The first lottery was sold in the Low Countries and offered tickets for money prizes. Towns in the Low Countries held public lotteries to raise money for poor people and for fortifications. Although it is not clear when the first recorded lottery took place, it is likely that they were held as early as the Middle Ages. A record dated 9 May 1445 in L’Ecluse, Belgium mentions a lottery held to raise funds for walls and fortifications. The prize money offered was 1737 florins, or roughly US$170,000 in 2014.