Mo Rocca: 1868 Andrew Jackson Impeachment Ticket
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APPRAISER (laughing): Well, thanks for clearing that up. And we have something else. Very interesting thing.
GUEST:
Yes. Now, this is a ticket to the Senate trial impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, our 17th president, um, who was impeached in 1868. He assumed office after Lincoln's assassination. I purchased this in the late '90s. I will tell you that it almost seemed too easy to acquire. I thought, how many tickets were... You know, they didn't have the impeachment trial at Radio City Music Hall. I mean, there weren't that many seats, so how many bona fide tickets could there be? So I will tell you that I purchased this for around $400 or $500, without the certainty that it's not a copy.
APPRAISER:
Well, I can assure you it is an actual impeachment ticket.
GUEST:
Yes!
APPRAISER:
(laughs) They did give out a thousand tickets a day.
GUEST:
A thousand tickets a day.
APPRAISER:
For every single day. So it started in March and went to May. And the way they differentiated and made sure that the tickets, the valid tickets, were to be presented on the proper day, not only is it dated, this is also printed in red ink on a yellow coated paper, and it's on a heavy stock. We can't take it out, but it's thick, like a card. The printers had a government contract to print these tickets. And what they did was, they printed a different color every day. So one of the ways that I can tell you for sure that it's right is that April 3, 1868, was yellow background, red ink, which is what yours has.
GUEST:
Oh...
APPRAISER:
So your example is a little faded, but I think that the $400 retail price is perfectly reasonable.
GUEST:
Okay, that helps make up for the bath I took on the bandanna.
APPRAISER (laughs): Indeed, indeed. And thank you so much for bringing your, your things.
GUEST:
Devon, thank you. It's, I mean, I prize these even more now that I know so much more about them.
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