What does $2 million get you for a vehicle these days?
Well, the legendary Hirohita Merc sold for $2 million at the Kissimmee, FL Mecum auction last year.
DON’T MISS: Lamborghini Has News That Shows 'Recessions' Are Relative
Then there’s the Bentley Batur coupe, which cost $2 million apiece last Aug. after a new limited rollout (Bentley only manufactured 18 Baturs' for the general public.)
Those prices are understandable from a collector’s point of view. These vehicles are exceedingly rare, hold their value, and are a point of immense pride for a certain class of buyers.
But would ultra-high-end buyers pay several million dollars for a vehicle license plate?
Some License Plates Sell For Millions
We’re about to find out, as a Southern California man is putting his customized “CASH” license plate up for sale for $2 million.
83-year-old retired patent lawyer Claude Arthur Stuart Hamrick is slapping a “for sale” sign on his vanity license plate, which he’s owned since 1970. The sale, available on the PlateBroker.com website, is actually at the moderate end of what’s becoming a highly expensive license plate market.
For instance, England’s “F1” vanity plate is currently on sale by a private owner for $20 million. On the upper end of the scale, the California “MM” license plate recently sold for a staggering $24.3 million (evidently, two-character license plates are rare and are highly desirable in the vanity license plate collectibles marketplace).
Hamrick is likely well aware of the value of a California “CASH” license plate in the collectibles market. He’s been biding his time to sell the 6-inch by 12-inch metal plate, which was likely manufactured at the world-famous Folsom State Prison, which holds the plate-making contract with the state of California. (The state sells the plates to the public for $25.)
Hamrick said he’s turned down multiple offers for his plate, but apparently, there’s no time like the present.
"Every time I traded cars, the dealers tried to buy it from me. Every car dealer in San Jose wanted that plate," Hamrick said in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. "I told them I wouldn't sell it for a million dollars."
At double the price, Hamrick is finally looking to unload his plate.
