This unique Chicago license plate is the first of its kind and is being auctioned off

Auto buffs, listen up! The Chicago license plates considered by many to be "holy grail" are now up for bid.

A rare Chicago license plate is up for auction until Sunday.Donley Auctions NPR

In a recent report of Emma Bowman on npr.org, bidders have the opportunity to acquire a piece of automobile history by winning an auction for a black-and-white aluminum plate that is stamped with the numeral "1." According to the description of the item on the online auction site, the plate was manufactured in 1904, which was the first year that Chicago produced license plates made of metal and the only year that the city produced plates made from thin, stamped aluminum.

"Only (a) handful of these were made," said Mike Donley of Donley Auctions. "And it's number 1. It doesn't get any lower than that."

According to Donley, prior to the state of Illinois beginning production of statewide license plates in 1903, the city of Chicago issued its own plates between 1903 and 1907. According to the auctioneers, the most valuable items from that era are those that were produced in the year 1904. In the years that followed, the fragile aluminum plates that were easily damaged were changed out for solid brass plates that were of a higher quality and more durable. Even more uncommon, this plate is in what is referred to as "VG," which stands for very good condition.

The plate's first owner was a founding member of AAA

Arthur Jerome Eddy, a prominent Chicago lawyer and art collector, was the first person in Chicago to be granted a license badge for a motor vehicle in the year 1900. He was also the recipient of this particular license plate, which was presented to him. According to Donley, prior to the distribution of license plates, license badges that were intended to be worn on drivers' coats were issued to drivers as a method of taxing city citizens for the purpose of supporting road construction.

Donley said that Eddy was an early supporter of the vehicle. According to The New York Times, in 1901 he set a record for driving an automobile's distance by traveling from Chicago to Boston and back again over the course of two months. This journey totaled 2,900 miles. He went so far as to write a book about the experience the following year, entitled Two Thousand Miles On An Automobile. It was one of several books that he authored.

In addition, Eddy was a co-founder of the Chicago Motor Club in the year 1902, which was an organization that advocated for driver rights and promoted the use of safe automobiles and roadways. Since then, that organization has become known as the American Automobile Association (AAA). According to auctioneers, he is also credited with putting Chicago on the map of the modern art world by drawing interest to the Art Institute of Chicago. This was done in order to put Chicago on the map. In more recent times, a well-known collector of motor cars named Lee Hartung, who passed away in 2011, was the owner of this license plate. The majority of his personal collection was sold at auction many years ago, but Donley stated that his partner recently discovered a cache of additional auto memorabilia while preparing to sell their house. One of the items that she discovered was the No. 1 plate.

At the auction, which will conclude on Sunday, Donley predicted that the price of the plate will range somewhere between $4,000 and $6,000. But according to Donley, the amount of interest it has generated could drive up the offers. The auctioneer brought the plate to a license plate show that was held over the weekend in Wauconda, Illinois. He stated that the plate attracted collectors from other states who wanted to examine it and determine whether or not it was authentic.

"There's a lot of interest in this," Donley said.

Source: npr.org