Pawn Stars

 Pawn Stars, one of the History Channel’s most recent series is a show that will keep your interest the whole way through.  Filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, Pawn Stars reveals the staff’s daily interactions with customers who want to sell or pawn their artifacts.  “Everything in here has a story and a price” says Rick Harrison, the owner of the shop.  The staff includes Rick Harrison (The Boss), his father Richard Harrison (Old Man) and his son Corey Harrison.  In the most recent episode, a number of customers are looking to pawn their valuable collectibles ranging from a World War II training rifle to a 1920’s Gibson Ukulele Banjo.

            Although the most popular item sold and pawned in the store is jewelry, the first customer hauls in what looks like two massive guns; because they are.  The two guns are World War II military rifles that were used in the 1920’s for training soldiers.  Also known as “cutaways”, Rick chose not to buy them because he thought they would be too hard to sell.  Usually the customer can only talk up their items so much because the owner knows what he wants and what he doesn’t want.

            The second customer brings in a 1965 Gilbert erector set which was supposedly the most popular toy building set in 1925.  Sold for a 50 dollar bill, the customer was satisfied in what Rick offered.   Sometimes the owner will call in one of his buddies who are professional specialists in order to verify the validity and of an object or just to get some input on how much the object is really worth.  Rick is very knowledgeable about what items come into his store and he is able to give the viewer a historical background of the antique.

            It is shocking when the owner decides not to buy something because of the condition it is in even though the item is worth a ton.  In the past episode for example, the customer wanted to sell a 1940 supermen ring.  The ring is said to be worth up to $30,000. There were only twelve made in the entire world and it is one of the first collectibles of the superman collection.  Rick decided that the ring was in horrible condition and offered a drastically lower amount to the customer than what the customer originally wanted.  The customer chose not to sell it.  The show offers viewpoints from both the boss and the customer.  Interviews tell the audience why the customer thought the amount was too low or not worth the deal.

            During commercials, there are trivia questions about the characters which pertain to the show.  During this episode the question asked “When was the last time Old Man took a sick day from work”?  You see the answer when the show comes back on.  The answer stated that the last time Old Man took a sick day from work was in 1994.   All of the men who work at this pawn shop dedicate their time to the store and make sure they give honest deals to their customers.

            Pawn Stars is a great new series and represents the side of television that is real.  There is no acting.  The customers are interviewed after they make a deal and you see the appreciation they have towards the shop.  The show brings greater recognition to the pawn industry and a good image to the shop itself.  Pawn Stars is entertaining and memorable to the viewer and is overall a “cool” show.