Event: 2017 Shannons Sydney Summer Classic Auction & Rare Number Plates
Date: Monday 28 August 2017
Location: 65 Reserve Road, St Leonards, NSW.
I don’t usually fly interstate to attend the Shannons auctions, but when a single digit plate is being auctioned for the first time in a decade, and the expected result will set a new record, it’s definitely worth making the trip!
Only seven numeric plates where offered at this auction (including one motorcycle plate), but the focus of most onlookers was on the single digit ‘4‘.
It didn’t disappoint, with a final price of $2,450,000 under the hammer.
This smashed the previous auction record of $745,000 paid for NSW ‘29‘ earlier this year.
For more information about the ‘4‘ plate please click here (still being updated).
The record breaking didn’t stop there however, with ‘321‘ achieving $192,000 after a massive 52 bids. I’m quite certain this is a record for any 3-digit plate at auction.
I also believe the $94,000 paid for ‘1968‘ is a record for a 4-digit plate, beating the previous mark of $82,000 paid for ‘9191‘ earlier this year.
Overall it was a huge night with numerous records broken.
Full results:
1 digit:
- 4 – $2,450,000 (26 bids)
3 digit:
- 321 – $192,000 (52 bids)
- 999 (motorcycle) – $45,000 (9 bids)
4 digit:
- 1968 – $94,000 (32 bids)
- 3684 – $56,000 (9 bids)
6 digit:
- 132255 – $28,000 (13 bids)
- 164674 – $26,000 (16 bids)
The original price guides and commentary are below:
Despite having just seven heritage plates on offer, this auction will be one of the most anticipated in recent times.
This is thanks to the first single digit plate to go to auction in a decade – 4 – being offered at this auction.
The plate is well known to have been owned by ‘Aussie’ John Symond for some years, before changing hands around 18 months ago, and is now offered to the market again.
Shannons have a price guide of $1.2m to $1.5m. Personally I feel anything below $1.5m will be a disappointment, especially considering the huge recent sales of NSW 29 and 36.
Opportunities to see a number plate sell at auction for over one million dollars are few and far between, so I’ll be heading down to Sydney to check this one out.
The 3-digit 321 is quite a nice plate, being a low number as well as a pattern. This isn’t the first time it’s seen the Shannons auction block, having previously sold for $102,000 at the 2014 Shannons Sydney Winter Classic Auction.
The guide of $100k – $120k seems very low considering the previous sale and the recent strength in 3-digit prices, so it will be interesting to see how this one fares.
999 is also a brilliant number, but being a motorcycle plate its value will be considerably lower.
The plates to be offered are detailed below:
1 digit:
- 4 – $1.2m – $1.5m
3 digit:
- 321 – $100k – $120k
- 999 – $50k – $60k (motorcycle plate)
4 digit:
- 1968 – $50k – $70k
- 3684 – $50k – $70k
6 digit:
- 132255 – $20k – $25k (no reserve)
- 164674 – $20k – $25k (no reserve)
For more information please visit the Shannons website.
