Sell tickets as souvenirs

In the Sept. 2 issue of Numismatic News I could not resist putting a photograph of Adam Stump of the U.S. Mint holding one of the coveted 500 tickets handed out in Chicago on the first day of availability of the proof gold Kennedy half dollar Aug. 5.

They were good for one coin at the issue price of $1,240.

There is nothing striking about it. It looks like something that is used in thousands of organizations for their raffles and other things.

Stump said there were security items on the back. He would not show them me, so I do not know what they are. But I am curious.

It is that curiosity that makes me think that the Mint is missing an opportunity.

Those tickets were handed out and then collected at the Mint booth. The Mint could now sell the tickets themselves as collectibles.

Would you pay $10 to get one? How about $20?

Some collectors might like to frame one and hang it on a wall as a memento of a crazy day in the life of the hobby.

These tickets have probably been recycled already, but if they have not been, the Mint should at the very least donate one to the ANA for display at its Money Museum.

The museum could pair the ticket with a specimen of the coin.

Future generations might shake their heads over what happened at the convention, but that is what museum exhibits are for.

A ticket good for the purchase of a gold Kennedy half dollar would join the many other “good for” tokens and other pieces that are avidly collected.

Am I crazy for suggesting this?

Perhaps.

But I wouldn’t mind having a souvenir from that important day in my life.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper is winner of the 2014 Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."