As soon as it was announced that the lowest number plate in Zurich history would be going under the hammer, there was a sense that it might become a record breaker. Now, officials confirmed that ZH 24 sold at an online auction on July 3 for a whopping 299.000 francs, smashing the previous record set by ZG 10.

Number plate auctions earn Swiss cantons millions

In Switzerland, low-number plates have a lot of provenance and value because of how vehicles are registered. BE 1 for example, was originally owned by the first person to register a motor in Canton Bern. However, if a number plate is deregistered or falls out of use, many cantons put the most valuable plates up for auction, so that motorists can buy them to use on their own vehicles. 

As they are a sign of prestige, many of the lowest and most interesting numbers go for eye-watering sums. In Zurich alone, the Security Directorate estimated that number plate auctions have earned the canton 5 million francs in the last two years. “All proceeds flow into the general state treasury of the canton and thus benefit the entire population," they noted. 

ZH 24 sells for record-breaking fee at online auction

According to the Road Traffic Office of Canton Zurich, ZH 24 was successfully sold at auction on Wednesday evening for a record-breaking 299.000 Swiss francs. The anonymous online user managed to secure the number plate, the lowest ever auctioned in the canton, after a bidding war which began on June 27.

At first, it didn’t look like ZH 24 was going to break the 233.000-franc record set by ZG 10 in 2018, with the price hovering at 151.000 francs by Wednesday afternoon. However, a flurry of bids saw the price shoot up by over 145.000 francs in one afternoon, securing the record for Zurich at long last - just bear in mind that 299.000 francs could also buy you a two-year-old Rolls-Royce Ghost.

10 most expensive number plates in Switzerland

With ZH 24 taking the record, here is the new list of the most expensive number plates ever sold in Switzerland (in Swiss francs):

1. ZH 24 (299.000)
2. ZG 10 (233.000)
3. ZH 100 (226.000) 
4. ZH 50 (202.000) 
5. ZH 888 (194.000)
6. SG 4 (179.700)
7. ZH 911 (173.600)
8. VS 1 (160.100) 
9. GE 555555 (155.020)
10. ZH 987 (152.400)

"I am very pleased with the sensational auction result. The record proceeds will benefit the entire population of Zurich," noted Zurich cantonal councillor Mario Fehr. “I am just as excited about our national team's quarter-final match [against England]," he shoehorned.