This Mercedes-AMG C43 Estate recently spotted in Melbourne, Australia is the same as any other but it’s not the car you should be focusing on; it’s the license plate.
Simply consisting of the number ‘1’, this license plate is the most expensive in circulation in the Australian state of Victoria. It has a complex history and is thought to be worth at least AU$2.5 million ($1.9 million).
The plate was first produced in 1932 and for some time, the state’s Police Commissioner, Premier and Governor couldn’t agree on who should keep it. It was ultimately locked away in a vault at the Motor Registration Board before being sold at auction for AU$165,000 ($127,000) in 1984. There’s no doubt that paying such a sum for a license plate in 1984 was a risky move, but it has only continued to increase in value.
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It was first registered to a Saab 9000 Turbo, and various people have owned it over the years. It has been spotted on a Ferrari, a Rolls-Royce, and an HSV SV5000 and was also registered to a Porsche 911 Turbo, a 911 Carrera, an E55 AMG, E63 AMG, and most recently, this C43 AMG.
There is a hot market for ‘heritage’ plates like this in Victoria. In fact, the number ‘26’ plate sold for AU$1.1 million ($847,000) at an auction last year, while plate number ‘101’ fetched AU$510,000 ($392,000) at a 2018 auction. There’s even an Instagram page dedicated to these heritage plates that you can see below.