The city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission confirmed the sale of two taxi cab medallions for $1 million each on Oct. 20. The medallion is a license to operate a yellow cab in the city.
The city sold the first batch of medallions for $10 each in 1937. Since then, the medallions have outperformed American home prices, oil, gold, and the Dow Industrial Average.
A $100,000 medallion was sold in 1985—that’s about $210,000 adjusted for inflation—according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The price has grown by 900 percent over the 26 years since then. There are more than 13,000 licensed yellow cabs in New York City. The two $1 million medallions are a corporate type, allowing the cab to be driven by anyone.
Individual medallions cost slightly less and require the medallion owner to drive the cab occasionally.
