NSW number plate ‘12’ has sold at auction for $2.5 million, setting a record for the most amount paid for a two-digit plate from New South Wales.

The low combination sold earlier this month at an auction held by Lawsons, and doesn’t include the additional buyer’s premium added to the hammer price.

According to the auctioneers, ‘12’ is the lowest numerical two-digit NSW number plate to be offered to the public in more than 60 years.

NSW ‘12’ first issued to the NSW Fire Brigade in 1910, along with ‘11’ – with ‘10’ reserved for the Fire Commissioner’s personal vehicle, which remains the case to this day.

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The sale fell short of the national record, which was set by Victorian plate ‘20’ in mid-2024 – changing hands for $2.54 million, before premiums.

In September 2024, NSW ‘70’ sold for $1.54 million, while Victorian plate ‘14’ sold in May 2022 for $2.27 million.

With Vic ‘26’ selling for a record $1.1 million in 2020, the value of low two-digit plates has increased by approximately 130 per cent in less than five years.

At the same auction in January 2024, Queensland ‘Q1’ sold for $5.66 million, while NSW ‘1’ sold for $11.5 million – an Australian record.