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Lotteries are very popular with Americans. The lure of easy money is very enticing Đ there are plenty of stories of blue collar workers who hit the big jackpot and are suddenly rich, and white collar workers who can quit their jobs. But did you know that lottery tickets are popular with collectors as well? Some old lottery tickets are historic and even important.

Many collectors purchase wager tickets because they have an important autograph, or because they were started to fund a historic effort. The very first authorized lottery in the United States was the 1744 Massachusetts Government Lottery. All tickets for this lottery were signed by lottery directors including Samuel Watts.

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 even organized lotteries. He held his to raise money for purchasing arms for the military arsenal. Many collectors seek this tickets because Franklin was one of America’s founding fathers.

There was even a lottery to help finance the Revolutionary War. In November of 1776, the Continental Congress authorized the United States Lottery for this purpose. It’s hardly surprising that collectors of early American artifacts love to add these tickets to their collections.

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.

In a recent auction, lottery tickets with Washington’s signature sold for more than $15,000 each. If you want a piece of history to display, you can get an authentic reprint for a fraction of this price, and they are still quite striking on display.

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.

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