Old white on black numeral only vintage style "historic" or "heritage" numberplates are a collectable & valuable thing here in some states in Australia; I've been the No1 dealer in them in my state of South Australia for over 20 years. It's a passion of mine.
These plates are actually how I came to track down & acquire my 901, but that's another story.
A long term client recently asked me to sell his plate SA"911", originally issued in 1906 (to, well, the nine-hundred and eleventh car registered here in SA), and a plate he'd owned since 1985 when it was first re-issued and made available by our government for purchase instead of the old random number registration method of acquisition.
It was auctioned by us for a record price & secured by a client who could have bought a very nice, fully restored early 911 RHD Australian delivery car for the same money. Yup. True.
I met my client today and took my early 901, a local SA car from new and the first RHD customer car delivered in Australia. In 1965 when first put on the road this car was registered to R.F. Angas in the numberplate SA "119". That vinyl plate you can see was stuck on the front of my car in '65 and has been there ever since.
This is a number plate his family was first issued in 1906, and which he subsequently had on all his personal cars, including the first ever RHD Porsche made, a 1951 356 Cab which he owned soon after it was imported into Australia. That 356 is today alive and very well in Melbourne.
My 901 was the last car to wear SA "119" as in 1966 the rules changed and owners could no longer transfer their numbers from car to car- the numbers stayed with the last cars they were on as at 1966.
Funny enough our client bought the SA "911" plate at auction without a 911 in the garage, so he has just taken delivery of this low mileage black/black 997.
So, today SA "119" met the 2005 997 Coupe that plate SA "911" has just been registered to.
Unremarkable; but
1965 meets 2005
901 meets 997
SA "119" meets SA "911"
Thanks for hanging with me this far; there's some nice symmetry there, so I thought I'd share the quick picture I took. Pity the Porsche dealers didn't screw the SA "911" plate on straight...I'm fixing this for our client next week.
Cheers
Stew.