VERY NICE PAIR OF 1876 U.S. CENTENNIAL ADMISSION TICKETS, EACH A DIFFERENT TYPE

These are examples of the Centennial admission tickets that are actually not rare; they're moderately scarce but the only issue for the collector wanting to add one or more to their collection is worrying about the price.

These two examples have multiple differences. I believe the top ticket was the first one issued at the start of the world's fair. It does NOT have a price printed on it but has a red overprint that reads "Fifty Cents." The bottom ticket is imprinted with the price (right above the type reading "Admit the Bearer" it reads fifty cents.)

The background paper is different on each, and as to value--no difference. The top has a quite bright white color while the bottom one is more of a beige. This is a lot like what collectors encounter on 1950s baseball tickets. Price guides for "gray" or "white" may have different prices based on rarity. Perhaps the offwhite was only used for 10% of the printing run, for example. Baseball grading and noting of differences has gone rather overboard in my opinion. But I won't write 5,000 words on the subject, at least not here.

The other difference in these tickets is the serial number, one in blue and one in red.
I'm afraid I can't tell you about possible rarities between the two tickets. It's not about asking prices, but actual selling prices.

If you look at most any ticket prices, over time the asking prices always seem to increase....but again, asking price is indicative of very little. Prices realized tell the true changes, if any, in selling prices. For some reason, I have seen many of these recently on ebay with asking prices of $50 to several hundred dollars. My thought is that most high prices come from novice collectors. And ebay has spawned literally millions of new buyers and sellers, 99% of whom are pretty much clueless in pricing. I'm sure every one of you reading this has noticed the dramatic increases in asking prices on ticktst and most any other item as well.

If I'm asked about these tickets, I always suggest collectors look for Centennial tickets at less than $25; it may take some weeks to find one for that price, but you will. I generally ask $20 and will continue to do so as long as I can find examples for less. This pair is on sale for only $25 dramatically less than the least expensive examples you'll see on ebay.