Your Guide to Heritage Plates

Heritage plates have quietly become one of the Australian automotive enthusiast's most prized assets. Linking Australia's automotive past with the “stealth wealth” trends of the modern day. Heritage number plates in every state and territory are considered sound investments and have become extremely desirable.

The handmade numerical plates are a unique reproduction of the first- ever plates issued to motor vehicles through the early 1900s. Typified by the use of vitreous enamel, with white lettering/numbers over a black background, heritage plates cannot be modified from their original form.

Heritage plates in Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria were first issued in the early 20th century and are now pressed using heavy-gauge steel plating, mimicking the styles of the era. The plates are oven-baked to create a high-gloss, durable finish. Of course, not only does owning a Heritage plate mean possessing the physical plate, but it also comes with the rights to display the combination on a vehicle.

In Victoria's case, the first number plates (now known as Heritage plates) were introduced between 1932 to 1939 and numerical combinations were available between 2 and 285.000.

For New South Wales, numerical combinations for cars ranged from 1 to 274.000 and this first run of plate registrations was issued from 1910 until 1937.

Queensland Heritage plate combinations are preceded by the letter 'Q' and were first issued between 1921 and 1955. The numeral combinations range between Q1 and Q687612.

Today, Heritage plates remain true to the original registration numbers issued a century ago. Numerical plates – from single-digits to six-digits – are very desirable to investors and collectors.