The most expensive license plate in the world is not only ridiculously expensive, but also the first of its kind. It is reported that a California license plate with only "mm" characters is currently being valued at an absurd price of $24.3 million (and may be sold)** Its price is not because it is made of precious metal, but because according to the DuPont registry, there are only 12 license plates with two duplicate characters.
Although this itself has made it a rare thing, it also has the reputation of being the first license plate paired with NFT in the world.
The back of the license plate is embedded with a two-dimensional code, which is linked to an address showing the NFT ownership certificate. This makes the license plate linked to digital assets. It is reported that its price is 5888 Ethereum. In California, license plates can be transferred to new owners, which makes this historical license plate /nft combination a valuable investment and can change hands many times. The question now is, is it worth the investment?
What makes it so expensive
When it comes to the best-selling license plate, the most expensive license plate in the history of the United States is a Delaware license plate containing the number "11", which was sold for $675000 in 2008. It is reported that Delaware began to issue license plates in numerical order, and the lowest number became the "status symbol" of the rich. Butcher Emmert of Emmert auctions told the media that it is more important to have a low number license plate in Delaware than to drive a Rolls Royce.
Michael modecki, the current owner (or possibly the seller) of MM license plate, wrote in an email that considering that mm license plate is not just an aluminum plate, he thinks the reasons behind the price of MM license plate are actually very reasonable. Modecki believes that the MM license plate and its matching NFT are already very valuable, so when combined, their value can be "greater". First, its NFT alone not only has a market value of more than 11million US dollars, but also can be used as a means to verify the ownership history of the license. This has enabled almost anyone to verify its legitimacy, even decades later. Considering the rarity of the license plate and its ownership certificate contained in a tamper proof decentralized blockchain, it becomes a unique and authentic package.
Rare license plates are a good business
The most expensive license plate ever sold for $14.3 million at an auction in Abu Dhabi in 2008. Abdulla al mannaie, general manager of the auction, pointed out in an interview with ABC that vanity license plates are a "good business". He said that these license plates can often bring more than 20% of the annual revenue. Al mannaie also said that the depreciation rate of such investment was "zero", and added that even if the cars were depreciated, the value of important license plates would continue to increase. Nevertheless, mannaie believes that it is more likely to sell Abu Dhabi's $14.3 million license plate in California, because the population of the state is four times that of the United Arab Emirates, which makes the number of potential buyers larger.
According to modecki, the number of billionaires in only one state in California is more than seven times that of the United Arab Emirates. Although the MM license plate is 10million dollars more than the previous record holder, the license plate broker explained that the adjusted price of the license plate of 14million dollars in 2008 after inflation in 2022 is 19million dollars, so this means that it will not be much different from the asking price of the MM license plate. In addition, about 20% of its $24million value is used for listing expenses, marketing, commissions, NFT gasoline expenses, etc. In view of its rarity, historical significance and symmetrical appeal, mm license plate is not only the most expensive license plate in history, but also can express many things in two letters.