That takes me back to studying auction theory (that's a good thing). These rare hats are a form of all-pay auction. That type of auction has really complicated equilibria and in practice generates odd behavior. 

Relevant to SN, in practice all-pay auctions often generate revenue that is far in excess of the value of the prize.

Undisciplined

Yeah then it is truly rare. 

Maybe a rare hat should come with a bag of loot dropped by a would be bank robber. 1000 sats get deposited into your account from rewards when you find one. 

grayruby

0xbitcoiner

Cowboy Hat Reform

I love the rare hats idea. I'd add that only one person at a time should be able to wear a rare hat. There are a bunch of options there: top post, top comment, biggest zap...