There are only nine in existence and they hardly ever change hands. At auction, their value would easily be in the millions — often 10 or 20 times more than the cars they are displayed on.
Victoria’s enamelled heritage number plates, with white numerals on a black background, have become extraordinarily valuable investments for the super wealthy.
The VIC 3 number plates, which are included in the will of late Geelong businessman Frank Costa.Credit:Instagram/heritageplates
The rarest of the lot are the single-digit plates, those numbered from 1 to 9 which were once reserved for government vehicles. The sky is the limit if any of those were to ever hit the open market, with a bidding war expected between collectors.
Such a battle could soon take place, with the highly sought after VIC 3 registration plate included in the estate of the Geelong fruit and vegetable tycoon Frank Costa, who died in May last year aged 83.
Costa’s family fortune was estimated by the Australian Financial Review to be $770 million in 2020. Probate was granted by the Supreme Court in July to the executors of Costa’s will, which include his wife Shirley and business partner Carl Schokman.
Listed in an inventory of Costa’s personal assets, alongside private companies, superannuation accounts worth $19.3 million and three properties, are the VIC 3 plates from his silver Mercedes Benz.
Frank Costa, former Geelong president, celebrating with fans after the the club’s grand final win in 2009.Credit:Getty Images
The number plate is valued, perhaps conservatively, at $3.25 million and there are no explicit instructions in Costa’s will on what will happen to it. However, he does gift his cars and personal effects to Shirley.
There are also directions to set up trust accounts for Costa’s eight daughters. The vast bulk of Costa’s fortune is not directly listed in his will.
The record price for a number plate to go under the hammer is NSW 4, which was bought by billionaire wine collector and sex toy magnate Peter Tseng for $2.45 million in 2017.
VIC 14 sold at auction this year for $2.27 million after a battle between two bidders.
The ‘VIC 1’ number plate, owned by Peter Bartels. The plate is worth up to $10 million.Credit:Instagram/heritageplates.
When contacted this week, Schokman said the executors had no immediate plans to sell VIC 3, though he was aware of what VIC 14 went for.
“I did see that figure,” he said. “[But] no decision has been made. It can just sit there like any other investment.”
Shannons national auction manager Christophe Boribon, who handled the sale of VIC 14, said it was difficult to say what VIC 3 would be worth to a collector. The plate was once owned by gaming tsars the Zagame family.
“We haven’t had a single-digit plate come onto the market in Victoria for decades,” he said. “Most of them have been passed down through the generations.”
Heritage number plates are worth big dollars.Credit:Ken Irwin
Boribon said the most valuable Victorian plates are VIC 1 and, because of its lucky status in some cultures, VIC 8. Both could be worth as much as $10 million.
Number plates were first issued in Victoria in the 1930s, though the lowest digits were not released to the public until they were sold as a collection by the Road Traffic Authority – now VicRoads – in 1984.
Back then, VIC 1 sold for $165,000 and it has changed hands several times since, with previous owners including millionaire car wholesaler Izzy Herzog and the disgraced former head of the Interwest hotel group, John Avram.
It is currently owned by former Fosters’ Group and Coles Myer chief executive Peter Bartels, who once rejected a written offer of $1.5 million.
Legend has it that Bartels negotiated the plate as part of a severance package when he left the brewing giant in 1992.
There is also a story that VIC 1 was first locked away because the police commissioner, the premier and governor could not agree on who should get it.
Now, the plates have become symbols of the super rich: VIC 2 is owned by the Smorgon family, while transport magnate Lindsay Fox also has several plates.
“The value around these plates is down to its history, these were the first number plates issued on motor vehicles,” Boribon said.
“The collector market has boomed.”
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