Beaucoup bucks had for ‘lucky’ registration plate at Donington Auctions sale
Victoria’s ‘luckiest’ numerical registration plate, 888-888, has just sold for a record-breaking $230,000 at Donington Auction’s ‘Collector Car & Number Plate Auction’ on February 25th.
Donington Auctions - Privately owned for the past 30 years, 888-888 smashed the record for the sale of a Victorian custom numerical plate, which was set in 2022, when 911-911 sold for $53,000.
Ironically, 888-888 sold for significantly more than the 2003 Mercedes-Benz CL600 V12 which wore this pair of custom plates, bringing a still strong $51,000 at Donington’s auction.
“The numeral ‘8’ is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture, and that was certainly the case for the plates’ elderly owner of three decades,” Donington Auctions’ Cameron Sabine said.
“Having an ‘8’ within a registration plate sequence has become the digit of choice among number plate collectors, both for its luck and in the case of this particular plate, its symmetrical format."
“So, we weren’t hugely surprised that it sold so well and were very pleased to have eclipsed the previous record by so much.”
Along with the successful sale of 888-888, another highlight of Donington’s ‘Collector Car & Number Plate Auction’ on Sunday was the rare 1926 Bugatti Type 37, which was straight out of 60 years’ continuous ownership and boasts six successive Australian Grand Prix starts in its provenance, which changed hands at $750,000.
Donington Auctions is a premium, European-style auction house which is Australia’s largest auctioneer of classic automotive items. Donington Auctions operates throughout Australia and New Zealand, with bases in Melbourne and Sydney.
It has a team of principal and consultant specialists offering real world advice to customers and consigners, drawing on extensive experience gleaned from work with global top tier auction houses such as Christie’s, Bonhams and Sotheby’s. https://www.doningtonauctions.com.au/
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