Many Years Ago............
While an undergrad at Alabama Polytechnic Institute [now Auburn University], fellow Tekes and I--when we were empty of pocket--would all pile into one car and travel some 30 miles to Tuskegee Institute and Sell Our Blood at their clinic.
As I recall, we got $15/pint. Room rent was $12/month at the frat house, so we paid our rent for a month and had money left over for beer. Beer was about $0.25/bottle, as I recall.
We never thought about buying S&W 500s at the time. No imagination, I guess.