Are you looking for ways to spend that spare USD$5.6 million you have in your bank account?

If this sounds like you, maybe a unique number plate should be your next investment.

Personalised car registration plates have been a trend and status symbol that has transcended borders, and are consistently popular in a number of countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

Over the years, license plates have transformed into coveted collectors' items, valued not only for their social and cultural significance but also for their growing popularity in contemporary society.

And in the last decade, this trend of owning a unique or personalised number plate has soared in popularity across the Middle East. If you have lived in Saudi Arabia, or any other county in the the GCC region, you would already know the culture and status that is linked with licence plates - and the hefty prices people are willing to pay to be the owner of these plates.

Last week, the most expensive number plate that has ever been sold in Saudi Arabia went under the hammer at an Al Muraba auction.

The coveted number plate is marked as 1E.

Often, prices (and social status) are linked to number plates that are highest in the alphabet (ie. as close as possible to A or AA), and the lowest possible numbers.

Frequently, prices and social status are associated with licence plates featuring the highest alphabet letters (such as A or AA) in combination with the lowest numerical values possible. With this in mind, 4K would be a more coveted plate than 4000K, and 4B would be more valuable than 4K.

Following ten competitive bids, the auction winner secured the 1E number plate for SAR 21,000,000.

However, when factoring in associated taxes and charges, the total amount the winning bidder will actually need to pay skyrockets to an impressive SAR 24,150,000.

For those not accustomed to Saudi Riyals, this means that the initial cost of licence plate came to USD$5.6 million, and then jumped to a total of USD$6.4 million inclusive of taxes and other associated costs.

Don't forget this price is just for the number plate, and does not include the cost of a car!

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