1972 First Issue 50 Cent Connecticut State Lottery Ticket - First or Later Issue - Rare Commemorative Connecticut Lottery Ticket 1972

This listing is for one of the photographed 1972 Connecticut State Lottery First Year Issue 50 Cent Lottery Ticket. Choice of the rarer Commemorative First Issue tickets or ones issued at a later date, still within the same first year of the lottery. The first issue date for these tickets is identified by the "Commemorative Issue" overprint at the top of the obverse, as well as the drawing date being February 24th, 1972 (2/24/72). The other later issue tickets have the drawing date of March 23rd, 1972 (3/23/72), about a month after the first tickets were issued. All tickets are in great condition, only some minor wear and circulation from age! Super interesting and rarer early lottery tickets. Excellent pieces of Connecticut history!

The Connecticut State Lottery was officially established in the legislative session of 1971, with the first tickets being sold to the public on February 15th, 1972. The first drawing of these tickets, as identified by the "drawing date" displayed on each ticket, took place on February 24th, 1972, at the Bushell Memorial Auditorium in Hartford, CT. Connecticut was the fourth state in the United States to establish a state lottery. Tickets were sold in local stores across the state priced at 50 cents each. The winning numbers were drawn weekly, with ticketholders with matching numbers winning between $40 and $5,000 depending on how much their ticket matched the drawn number. Ticketholders with numbers that matched the last 3 digits of the winning number would receive a prize of $40, and ticketholders that had matching last 4 digits would receive a prize of $400. Ticketholders with all 5 digits matching the drawn number would win the highest cash prize of $5,000 and additionally be placed into the "Super 75" drawing where the winner would win the top prize of $75,000. This cash prize was the highest lottery prize for weekly drawings at the time! 

These tickets show the incredibly fascinating history of the establishment of state lotteries in the United States and give insight into the interesting process that went into drawing the winners! Amazing addition to any collection! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

1972 First Issue 50 Cent Connecticut State Lottery Ticket - First or Later Issue - Rare Commemorative Connecticut Lottery Ticket 1972