The most sought-after license plate in Australia is currently up for auction and its current bid of over $10 million ($NZ10.8 million) is a true reflection of its specialty.
Having been owned by the same family for several decades, this is the first time the New South Wales Heritage Plate that simply reads “1” is being auctioned publically.
Its next owner won’t just be getting their hands on a pressed piece of aluminium, but also an important piece of history.
According to auctioneer Lloyds, ‘NSW 1’ was issued to the state’s first police commissioner before being acquired by Sir Frederick Stewart in the 1930s.
Stewart was of course the founding chairman of Australian National Airways and he used the single-digit designation on his Oldsmobile until his passing in 1961.
It was then handed over to his widow, Lady Stewart, who supposedly declined an offer of $200k for the plate in the late 1980s while it was on her 1981 Ford Fairmont LTD.
Many anticipated the plate number would be sold when she passed away in 2000, but it has stayed with the family until today.
“This is the first time ‘NSW 1’ is being offered via public auction in more than 110 years and will probably be the last, it is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure the most desirable and prestigious number plates in Australia,” Lloyds states.
“Generally rare heritage plates such as these are passed down through generations within families so the significance of this one in a 100-year bidding event is record-breaking in itself.”
Depending on who buys the license plate, it might even be worth more than the next car it’s next affixed to.
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