In a recent TikTok video, a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, which retails for at least US$350,000, is shown driving down a highway in the capital of the United Arab Emirates while sporting licence plate #1, which is unquestionably one of the most expensive licence plates in the world.
The record for the most expensive licence plate ever supposedly belonged to Dubai #1, which was purportedly purchased at auction back in 2008 by billionaire businessman Saeed Abdul Ghafour Khouri for the princely sum of 52.2 UAE dirham (US$14.3 million).
We are certain that Dubai #1 would continue to be the most expensive licence plate in the world even after accounting for inflation, despite the fact that several other plates have either sold or been priced higher. A piece of aluminium costs a lot of money.
You might be asking yourself: why would someone spend such an insane amount of money on a license plate? Well, they’re actually a surprisingly good investment.
As rare license plate expert Chris Bowden explains, “how many other asset classes do you know that are theft-proof? If someone steals the plate off my car, they don’t own it. I just go with my little folder down to the service centre and I’m good.”
Car registrations don’t deteriorate over time, unlike rare or historic cars, so you may “enjoy” your purchase without worry. They could be considered the first NFT. That’s before we discuss how greatly they enjoy things.
However, not every registration is worthwhile. Low numerals, notably 1 and plates with repeated digits or plates with pop culture significance, such as 666, 69, 420, or 58008—you get the idea—are always valuable. Additionally, it depends on the nation or culture; for example, in Asian nations, plates with several 8s are worth more.
nterestingly, the top two most expensive license plates in the world aren’t single-digit plates.
The most expensive plate in the world is reportedly California plate ‘MM’, which has been valued at US$24.3 million. Two-character plates are exceedingly rare in the US, especially ones that use the same character – indeed, there are only 35 of them across the entire country. California ‘MM’ also comes with its own NFT, for added security.
The second most expensive plate is UK plate ‘F1’, which is reportedly up for sale for US$20 million. Guess those Poms love their Formula 1… Fun fact: the current owner, Afzal Kahn (an automotive designer and entrepreneur) currently has it attached to his Bugatti Veyron. Must be nice.
