What is Lotology?

How many people have ever heard of 'lotology'? Lotology is the little known hobby of collecting lottery tickets. While lotologists collect most kinds of lottery tickets the primary ticket collectibles are scratch off lotto tickets. Lotteries have been popular in the United States since colonial times. Lottery tickets were issued to purchase arms and ammunition during the French and Indian wars. Founding father Benjamin Franklin organized a lottery to purchase cannons for Philadelphia's defense. In 1767 George Washington organized the 'Mountain Road Lottery' for the construction of a road through the Allegheny Mountains. The Continental Congress used lotteries to finance the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Lotteries pretty much disappeared towards the end of the 19th century and were not revived until the 1960's when New Hampshire became the first state to sell lottery tickets in the 20th century.

Since then most states have implemented state lotteries and currently there are two mega jackpot multi state lotteries; Mega Millions and Powerball. There are now thousands of lotologists around the world. Believe it or not lottery ticket collectors have found and collected lottery tickets from the colonial era. Lottery tickets for Washington's Mountain Road Lottery have sold for a whopping $15,000 each and most of these tickets were signed by Washington himself. Occasionally tickets for Ben Franklin's lottery will turn up and fetch very high prices. Avid collectors have paid steep prices for historical lottery tickets. Sometimes a real rarity will turn up such as a ticket for the 15th century English lottery. Most colonial era lotto tickets fetch hundreds or thousands of dollars each and are avidly sought by serious lotologists. There are probably many more colonial era lottery tickets in dusty attics along the eastern seaboard and once in a while one is found.

There are several websites devoted to lotology where collectors can meet and buy, sell and trade lottery tickets. While it is highly unlikely that a collector will find historic lottery tickets for sale on these sites collectors can find lottery tickets from almost any state that operates a lottery. Some collectors specialize in US lottery tickets while others collect lottery tickets from around the world. The ultimate lottery ticket for any serious collector would be a ticket from the first known lottery in the Dutch town of Sluis issued in the 14th century. While it is highly unlikely that any of these will be found collecting lottery tickets has provided entertainment for collectors around the world.