Aussie “20” License Plate Sells For $1.7 Million

Collectible license plates are big business, and in Australia, a particularly prized plate has just sold for a coffee-spitting AU$2.54 million ($1.68 million). That’s more than enough for a huge house or a couple of 1,000 hp supercars, and yet, the winning bidder’s money will go to a tiny pair of plates just four inches wide.

This particular one is registered in the state of Victoria and is a prized ‘heritage plate’. It’s number ‘20’ and is one of just 90 two-digit heritage plates in the state and one of just nine that’s a round number. Collectors like round numbers, apparently.

Read: Most Expensive License Plate Ever Sells For $15 Million In UAE

While it may seem crazy to spend so much on a pair of license plates, they’ve become big business and many have skyrocketed in value in recent years. It’s not just in Australia where plates like these are prized either as low-digit plates have also soared in value in many other parts of the world. The lower the digit, the more the plates seem to be worth.

A few years ago, the Victorian ‘20’ plates were spotted on a simple Mercedes-Benz C 200 Wagon, despite being worth more than 50 times the car’s value.

This isn’t the only low-digit Australian license plate to be sold in recent months, nor is it anywhere near the most expensive. In January, perhaps the most valuable plate in the country, number ‘1’ registered in the state of New South Wales, sold for AU$12.4 million (~$8 million), including a 7.5% buyer’s premium. That’s enough for a sprawling mansion in Sydney, one of the world’s most expensive cities to buy real estate.

To many, the idea of spending so much on license plates may seem absurd but in Australia, they’ve proven to be a very good investment, so it’s little wonder why demand for them continues to surge.