Many Americans are big fans of the lottery. Plenty of people love playing the lottery, and are attracted by the quest for easy money. We all have heard of the hardworking waitress who strikes it rich overnight, or the office worker who retires to Bimini after the big win. But for some lottery fans, the ticket is the score. Some people actually collect old lottery tickets that have historic appeal.
Take the earliest lottery held in the United States Đ the Massachusetts Government Lottery begun in 1744. Tickets sold for this lottery are prized because they are a very early piece of Americana, and are signed by Samuel Watts and other directors of the lottery.
Each ticket cost thirty shillings, and twenty-five thousand tickets were sold. About 22% of ticketholders won a prize, which is pretty good odds. This lottery was so successful that other colonies decided to follow suit and establish their own.
Benjamin Franklin organized one lottery, in order to raise money to bolster the military arsenal. These tickets are avidly sought by collectors, because of their association with one of the founding fathers.
There was even a lottery to finance the Revolutionary War. In November of 1776, the Continental Congress authorized the United States Lottery for this purpose. Many collectors of early American historical artifacts prize these lottery tickets.
Another very famous early American lottery was the 1768 Mountain Road Lottery. Tickets for this lottery are hugely collectible because they were signed by George Washington. This was a big selling point with original ticket buyers as well.
If you don’t mind having a reproduction, you can find reprints of these lottery tickets for a fraction of the cost of the originals. However, if you insist on having an authentic ticket, you can expect to pay for the privilege. In a recent auction, authentic lottery tickets with Washington’s autograph sold for more than $15,000 each.
For collectors, the thrill of finding historic lottery tickets is significant. Maybe not as much of a thrill as winning millions, but it’s still quite a joy to find that ticket you’ve been searching for.
See more of this writer’s work on topics such as siamese kittens for adoption and caring for kittens.
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Tags: advice, collectibles, education, family, Gambling, history, hobbies, investment, kids, leisure, personal finance, recreation, reference, teens
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