Special Lunar New Year number plates up for auction

Lunar New Year celebrations will be in full force later this month and VicRoads has wasted no time getting involved, partnering with Heritage Only to offer up a unique range of number plates.

Also commonly referred to as Chinese New Year, the plates on offer will wear numbers and combinations synonymous in Chinese culture with luck and prosperity.

Set to go to auction, the curated collection includes the following: 766, 1.680, 2.025, 6.886, 7.887, 8.282, 28.000, 59.999, 86.888, and 98.989.

It probably would’ve included (non-heritage) plates like 888 and 888888 had both already not been taken.

Meanwhile, two more plates – including a two-digit combination from Western Australia – will also be up for grabs.

According to VicRoads, numbers two, six, eight, and nine are considered ‘very auspicious; eight in particular is the luckiest number because the pronunciation (ba) sounds similar to the word ‘fa’ which means to make fortune’.

The live and exclusive auction will kick off on February 18 at Melbourne’s Part Hyatt Grand Ballroom, however, those unable to attend in person can register to bid online.

Replicas of Victoria’s first ever number plates issued in the 1930s, the heritage plates set to go auction next month are said to be hand-crafted with unparalleled attention to detail, ‘reflecting the time-honoured techniques used last century’.

It’s also worth noting that three-, four- and five-digit heritage plates can only be purchased at auction, making them highly exclusive. And expensive.

In June last year, Victorian plate ‘20’ sold at auction for a whopping $2.54 million, while two years prior, Victorian plate ‘14’ fetched $2.27m.

Slightly more palatable yet just as absurd (to some), is the $363,000 someone paid for Victorian heritage plate ‘123-456’ in August last year.

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