1744/45 Massachusetts Lottery Ticket

Date1744-1745

MediumPaper and ink

Dimensions3 7/8" x 1 1/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Lasser Numismatics Fund

Object number2021-209

DescriptionIndented rectangular ticket, printed with type and a floral cast cut. Signed and numbered by hand.
Label TextIn early January of 1744/45 the General Court of Massachusetts created the first authorized lottery held in colonial America. The goal of the scheme was to raise money for the defense of the colony without raising or levying taxes “in a manner the least burdensome to the inhabitants."

By the time of the drawing, held at Faneuil Hall in June of 1745, 25,000 tickets had been sold for 30 shillings each, netting £37,500. Of the tickets sold, 5422 were to be winners, giving participants a better than one-in-five chance of winning. Since all £37,500 was paid out to the winners, Massachusetts made its money by collecting a 20% tax on the winnings, thereby raising £7500 for the provincial treasury. The program was so successful that the other colonies followed suit, held lotteries through the Revolution, and then into the mid-19th century. The lure of easy money still attracts state lottery players to this day!

Colonial Williamsburg's example of the first American lottery ticket is numbered 3265 and signed by Samuel Watts, one of the five directors of the "Massachusetts Government Lottery."
InscribedNumbered "3265."