Lotogoly-A Growing Hobby

People around the world collect a wide variety of objects, documents, coins, stamps, dolls and many other valuable objects. Many who grew up in the 50's and 60's that collected stamps and coins have found themselves with collections worth tens of thousands of dollars. There is one little known hobby that may be of interest to lottery players; lotology or the collecting of lottery tickets. This somewhat obscure hobby has attracted many lotologists and there is even an official website devoted to those who collect lottery tickets.

Historic lottery tickets are of particular interest. Lotteries have a long and colorful history and were used to finance various government enterprises for hundreds of years. In the United States lotteries were used to finance the American Revolution, the French and Indian wars and the establishment of educational institutions such as Harvard and Princeton universities. Lottery tickets from this era are highly prized among collectors and turn up occasionally. During the Elizabethan era in England lotteries were used to finance military adventures and public works projects. These tickets are highly prized by collectors but are priced out of the reach of the average lottery ticket collector. Lottery tickets from the American revolutionary era with George Washington's signature have sold for $15,000! For those who cannot afford this price reproductions are available. One website specializing in historic documents recently sold a 1795 English lottery ticket for about $700.

The Global Lottery Collectors society is the world's largest group of lottery enthusiasts who study and collect lottery tickets. The group holds annual conventions and at present has about 200 members from around the world. According to their website members collect both mint and used lottery tickets. Occasionally a lottery ticket with a valuable autograph will turn up and is quickly snatched up by collectors. There are websites that facilitate the collecting of lottery tickets and collectors can bid on various lottery tickets. There are even downloadable programs designed to help lotologists catalog and organize their lottery ticket collections. Themed and commemorative lottery tickets are of particular interest to collectors. Lotologist Dennis Morse, a former US Navy diver has amassed a collection of 250,000 used lottery tickets! Morse says he collects lottery tickets because of aesthetic value of different lottery tickets.

Several states are considering the sale of online lottery tickets which could make paper lottery tickets more valuable in the future as virtual lottery tickets replace paper tickets. Recent reports indicate that the number of lotologists is growing and there are now several websites devoted to the trading of lottery tickets and related lottery paraphernalia.