A losing lottery ticket was auctioned for $9,663 on Wednesday night.

The ticket bears John Hancock's John Hancock at the bottom, as one of five Boston Selectmen. It is dated June 1765. Proceeds from the lottery - fifth in a series - were used to repair fire damage sustained in 1761 to Faneuil Hall. The building was later used by Sam Adams and others to organize the overthrow of the government.

Another Lottery Ticket

In an episode of Pawn Stars that first showed in February 2024, Rick is presented the opportunity buy a similar lottery ticket dated 1758, signed by George Washington.

The customer thinks it is worth between $8K and $10K. Rick wants it, you can see him salivating, but he's a little wary that it's in such good condition. Time to call in an expert.

Rick's guy loves the thing, says George was involved with this lottery to build a mountain road, and he had these lottery tickets printed up and numbered. These were never issued, which is why it is in such great condition. The signature is authentic, and the ticket could be worth fifteen to twenty thousand dollars at auction.

Negotiations

The guy with the ticket now wants $15,000, not the $8-10K he originally thought it was worth. Rick offers $8,000 and the other guy insists of $12,000. They can't come to a meeting of the minds.

Well, if Rick had bought it for $8,000, held it for a year, and paid the fees to sell it at this auction, and he'd gotten the $9,663 that this Hancock ticket brought, he'd have made no money at all, possibly even have lost some, after losing the use of the money, commissions and fees.

I wonder how the guy with the George Washington ticket feels after hearing this news. He should have sold when he had the opportunity!

Meanwhile, I have a short stack of losing Pennsylvania lottery tickets. If anyone wants to buy them, I'll offer them a bargain - face value! Hey, Pennsylvania ain't issuing any more with these numbers for these dates, and most of the tickets for those lotteries have either been redeemed or destroyed. Your grandchildren could make a bundle!