An 83-year-old retired California lawyer, Claude Arthur Stuart Hamrick, hopes to sell his vanity license plate bearing the word “CASH” for a whopping $2 million. Hamrick has owned the license plate for over 50 years and hopes to take advantage of a California state option that allows plate owners to release their interest in their plates to new owners. Hamrick’s plate is listed on the website of a plate broker who has spent tens of thousands of dollars obtaining the rights to vanity plates.
According to the Mercury News, Hamrick’s “CASH” license plate represents his initials and is “a testament to his flashy lifestyle.” The former patent lawyer “helped Silicon Valley rake in money during the heyday of a tech boom” and “hobnobbed with Apple co-creator Steve Wozniak,” the publication says. Hamrick resides in North Carolina, where he is closer to his grandchildren.
Vanity license plates have long been famous for car owners to express their personalities, interests, or occupation. These types of plates typically feature personalized letter and number combinations chosen by the owner and approved by the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). However, some vanity plates can fetch a high price when sold to collectors or enthusiasts.
Delaware allows sales of vanity license plate rights, which has led to license plate exchanges there. In Texas, the state holds online auctions for vanity license plates. For instance, according to ESPN, the plate “12THMAN,” a reference to student fans of Texas A&M University football, was bought by Houston personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee for $115,000 in 2013. Buzbee later gave the plate to an A&M University alumnus who was a decorated war veteran, according to Texas A&M Today.
Claude Arthur Stuart Hamrick’s “CASH” license plate is just one example of the high demand for vanity license plates among collectors and enthusiasts. While the price tag of $2 million may seem steep, it is not uncommon for these types of plates to fetch high prices in the market. As more states offer programs to sell vanity license plate rights, we will likely continue to see high prices for these personalized plates.
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Lawyer hopes vanity license plate will add $2M to his bank account