This article was originally published on HistoricTalk
Pawn shops may not necessarily have the most positive reputations, but they're literally an Aladdin's cave of treasures. We’ve all seen them in TV dramas with police hunting down stolen goods and antique fanatics finding valuable items after hours of scavenging, but that's usually where it ends. Well, it turns out we've really been missing out. Here are some of the weirdest, rarest, and most valuable items ever found in pawn shops. Check them out below!
A Prehistoric Wooly Mammoth Fossil
There’s nothing like a wooly mammoth fossil to get collectors going. This particular fossil was brought into a Virginia pawn shop in 1996. The customer was looking for a loan of $600 and so offered up this rare find. Unfortunately, the customer never returned to collect the mammoth fossil, and so shop owner Nathan Segal decided to hang onto it for himself instead, and he has no plans to sell it to keen collectors.
While it’s standard to see pawn shop cabinets and shelves full of gold, jewels, and even guns, we’re betting this fossil drew a few stares from customers. It's certainly not something you see every day!
A Stolen World War I Mask
Initially owned by US Army Sgt. Robert O. Pennewell, this German world war two mask was donated by him to the Wyoming State Museum, where it went missing almost immediately. Fast forward nearly half a century, and the mask was tracked down when a pawn shop owner from South Dakota listed the mask on eBay, having acquired it for $300. Subsequently, the pawn shop owner, Chris Johnson, was informed the mask was stolen.
He did the right thing, took down the post, and donated it to the Cheyenne museum, stating, “you can’t put a price tag on giving something back to the rightful owners.”
OJ’s Car
Possibly one of the most high-profile car chases of all time was the LA Police behind disgraced former football star, TV presenter, and actor O.J. Simson. And pictured here, we see Rick Harrison of popular reality show Pawn Stars fame checking out the white Bronco that was OJ's getaway vehicle on June 17, 1994. Also pictured is OJ’s agent (at the time) trying to sell the van for a cool $1.3 million. Rick declined.
So what happened to the van? Before this Pawn Stars episode aired, OJ’s agent, Mike Gilbert, made a deal with the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Tennessee, where the car is still displayed.
A Can of Elephant Poop
No exaggerating here. In a Pawn Stars episode in Season Five, a man came into the store with a carry case. The wannabe seller assured cast member Chumlee Russell that inside the case was real elephant manure. The seller had bought it from a local auction company and wanted $10,000 for what he hilariously called “Elephant Elixir.” Needless to say, it’s no surprise that the enterprising seller’s request was turned down flat.
Instead, Pawn Stars' Chumlee made the seller what he considered to be a more realistic offer and parted with $20 to have the dubious honor of owning this weird and wonderful item.
Genuine Dinosaur Eggs
You’d be forgiven for thinking that dinosaur eggs are a rarity. But apparently, that’s not the case. Although it's possible to sell them for hundreds of dollars, they are less valuable than they were 50 years ago. Today, dinosaur fossils, eggs, and bones have been found across several continents. So, unfortunately, when the owner of this delightful pair of eggs asked The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop for $20,000, it was not to be.
Pawn shop worker Corey checked with expert assessor Tom Lindgren, who confirmed tens of thousands of eggs are sold on the international market. They typically sell for $300-$600, so he offered the owner $500, which she reluctantly accepted.
John F. Kennedy’s Humidor
A rare and lucky find turned up at the Pawn Stars store; namely, this humidor presented to JFK for his inauguration by Milton Berle and Alfred Dunhill of London. They commissioned a unique box of walnut wood to hold the 35th US President’s cigars. It was inscribed with a plaque that said: “To JFK. Good Health- Good Smoking. Milton Berle, 1/20/61.” A buyer paid the pawn shop $60,000 for the humidor.
From there, the box ended up at auction in 1996 where Marvin R. Shanker bought it for $575,000, writing: “The humidor and all that it means to cigar smokers who revere President John F. Kennedy, is now preserved.”
Tonsil Guillotine (19th Century)
Yes, you’re reading correctly. The above picture item is a tonsil guillotine. Actually called the tonsillotome, it was invented in 1827. As its name so aptly suggests, doctors used it to remove a patient’s tonsils by snipping them off, minus any pain relief. While you’re busy imagining that, and shuddering at the prospect, we’ll tell you that Pawn Stars' Rick Harrison’s son, Corey, who is a popular member of the show's cast did the haggling for this grisly item.
Brought in by Dr. Daliah Wachs, who wanted $1,100, she and Corey did a little haggling before he agreed to pay the doctor $800 for this weird and strangely attractive collectible.
The Wayne's World Car
Originally a Saturday Night Live sketch, the Wayne’s World comedy film was huge back in the 90s. Starring Mike Myers as Wayne Campbell and Dana Carvey as Garth Algar, it was a movie that some say defined the decade. So when the 1976 AMC Pacer car that featured in the opening “Bohemian Rhapsody” scene of the movie came up for sale, Pawn Stars owner Rick Williams acted fast. And who could blame him?
He bought the blue three-door hatchback vehicle in 2015 for $9,500. After some restoration work was carried out, the car was sold at auction in 2016 for an impressive $37,400.
A Blood Transfusion Set From the 1950’s
Here's some fascinating medical drama. But, this time, in the form of a carry case containing all you need to perform a blood transfusion. That’s if you were transported back to the 1950s, of course. However, a closer look at this somewhat grisly and pretty scary-looking addition to the Pawn Stars collection tells us this seems like a pretty rudimentary way of undertaking a transfusion. It hardly fills you with confidence!
Maybe there are collectors out there who are obsessed with all things medical? Who knows. Either way, Pawn Stars' Chumlee paid $125 for this gruesome kit. Who knows how many patients it's been used on?
A Five Decade Long Waffle Iron
We have to ask ourselves why anyone would want a kitchen appliance that's 50 years old? Especially when you consider the seller is asking Pawn Stars' Chumlee $100 for this beauty, especially when you can get a brand new waffle iron for half the price! But, ours is not to reason why. Admittedly, this appliance does work. So by what it looks like it lacks in cleanliness, it seems to make up for in functionality!
Unsurprisingly, Chumlee said this bad boy would be quite tricky to sell, and even then, it would only appeal to a very niche buyer. In light of that, the seller walked away with only $50
An Exploding Dye-Pack Of $10 Notes
Okay, so what we're looking at here is a pack of old $10 bills with a hole cut in the center. But that's not all... these notes have then been filled with exploding dye. Interestingly, these kinds of dye-packs are still used today. Why? To try and dissuade bank robbers from committing this crime. Or at least make it easier to identify the thief. After all, it's much harder to escape undetected when you're covered in ink.
The guys from Pawn Stars bring in an expert to assess the legality of the purchase. Turns out, it's completely legitimate, and the seller managed to walk away with a whopping $175!
Slash's Driving License
If you're a fan of the show Pawn Stars, you probably already know that the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop is open 24/7. In light of that, they occasionally get sellers coming in at unholy hours - which is precisely what happened when a man came in with Slash's driver's license. Yes, the one from the world-famous band Guns n' Roses. So naturally, the seller asked for an astonishing sum.
$50,000. However, he left disappointed. Rick was only prepared to part with $1,000 for this gem. Unsatisfied with the offer, the seller refused to make a deal and walked away with his piece of music history.
Reggae Star Peter Tosh’s Grammy Award
Solo artist Peter Tosh, one of the core members of the Wailers between 1963-1974, was murdered along with two other men at his home in Jamaica in 1987. Five others were found wounded in the brutal robbery and attack. In 1988, Tosh was awarded a posthumous Best Reggae Grammy award for his album No Nuclear War. Now, fast forward to 2016, and Tosh’s Grammy was located in a Boston pawn shop storefront window.
It was allegedly given to the store as collateral on a loan by a Tosh family member. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences forbids the sale of Grammy awards, so it remains in the storefront window to this day.
A Rare Egyptian Mummy Mask
Here is something unexpected and interesting in the shape of an Egyptian Cartonnage Mummy Mask. It's in excellent condition. Cartonnage is made from linen or papyrus and covered in plaster. Masks like this are typically used for Egyptian funeral masks. The buyer wanted $70,000 for the relic. However, the Pawn Stars store calls in an expert who confirms the 2,000-year-old mask is real but only estimates its value at $22,000.
Having heard the valuation, the seller is disappointed and lowers his price to $30,000. Finally, after some serious haggling, the team agrees to give the seller his $30,000, and a deal is agreed.
This Antique Duck Press
We stared long and hard at this unusual-looking item. Luckily for the Pawn Stars crew, they had an expert on hand to take a look at this seemingly weird. The expert confirmed it’s a French duck press. Confused? You put the cooked duck into the press, which then squeezes out all of the fat and juices, which are then used to make a sauce. Why not just eat the duck?
The seller wanted $9,000 for his find. However, the Pawn Stars store team wasn't keen to part with more than $1,500. So the seller left empty-handedץ Apart from the duck press, of course.
Pawn Shops Secretly Selling Oscars
These iconic statues are the epitome of Hollywood success and glamor. They are seen as the highest accolade an actor or director can achieve. Otherwise referred to as Academy Awards, more than 3,000 have been awarded since 1929. In fact, they are so coveted that in 1951, Academy Awards officials ruled it impermissible to sell an Oscar. However, you could bypass the system if you know which pawn shop to head to.
It is widely suggested that as long as you’re in the know, there are pawn shops out there that can help collectors acquire an Oscar for anywhere between a few hundred dollars to thousands.
Antique Book of Mormon
Rare books are a real find, and it’s always exciting when someone unearths one at a pawn shop. Here we have just that. Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars fame purchased this 1842 edition of The Book of Mormon. First, the book was appraised to ensure its authenticity, and according to the expert appraiser, Rebecca Romney, this book is directly related to the start of the Mormon church. How cool is that?
Rick gave the book’s owner, Adam, a whopping $24,000 after Rebecca Romney valued it at an astonishing $40,000. She even said it was the most valuable book the store had ever asked her to appraise.
A Submarine for One
We’re struggling to see why anyone in their right minds would want to actually get in one of these. But, hey, to each their own, right? This submarine was clearly too large to get into the Pawn Stars store, so its owner placed it on a trailer and parked up close to the shop instead. Apparently, this unusual mini-sub was kept by its owner in the desert, and it definitely needed some maintenance work.
Even so, the Pawn Star guys were interested enough to give the owner of this one-person submarine $3,000 for it. However, that’s nowhere near what the seller initially hoped for.
Two Stolen Paintings Worth a Fortune
In 2013, six oil paintings by famous illustrator NC. Wyeth, collectively valued between $1-$2 million, were stolen from a private art collection in Portland, Maine. Four of the six were recovered at the Dina Collection, a high-end pawn shop in Beverly Hills by the FBI a month later. Three people were subsequently charged with the crime. That left two paintings to cover, for which the FBI offered a $20,000 reward.
“The Encounter on Freshwater Cliff” (pictured) and “Go Dutton, and That Right, Speedily” were recovered in the same year when an unnamed person surrendered them to a retired FBI agent in the Boston area.
Spanish Gold Coin Dated 1715
When a customer brought this Spanish gold coin into the Pawn Stars store, it was an exciting moment. The coin was inherited from the seller’s grandfather and was in excellent condition. Rick told the seller the coin was 8 Escudos and originated in Peru. The seller hoped to receive $2,000 for it. An expert validated the find as a 1715 Lima 8 Escudo coin and that it was not counterfeit.
The expert gave the coin an $18,000 price tag, at which point the seller’s eyes almost popped out of his head! Finally, after some haggling, the seller walked away with $11,000.
A Rare Copy of Dr. Martin King Jr's Speech
There are weird items, and then there are rare and historical items, which is the category this incredible find falls into. A seller walked into the Pawn Stars store with a signed copy of a full transcript of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech against the Vietnam War. The civil rights leader and social activist made this speech a year before his assassination. The seller was a keen Vietnam war collector.
He wanted $12,500 for the signed speech to buy more collectibles. Rick and Richard had the Luther King signature authenticated. Then, after some haggling, a price of $10,000 was agreed.
The First Latin American Nobel Peace Prize
Here is another interesting find. But this time it is the first-ever Nobel Peace Prize medal to be awarded to a Latin American. Argentinian Carlos Saavedra Lamas was awarded the medal in 1936 for his part in negotiating peace between Paraguay and Bolivia. Unfortunately, the medal disappeared after his death. However, it later resurfaced in a South American pawn shop where an American collector bought it back in the 1990s.
The 23 karat coin weighing 222.4 grams was worth $9,000 at the time, simply because of its weight. However, it ended up at auction in 2014 in Baltimore, selling for a whopping $1.16 million.
A Huge Mario Statue
It’s not every day that something as quirky as this turns up in a pawn shop, so when this gaming Mario statue found its way to Rick’s store, it caught the team's attention. The first Mario Brothers Nintendo game came out in 1983, and gamers have loved it ever since. The seller told staff he won this statue in a Mario Kart contest and sold it to the store for $550.
While it is hard to put a price on such an unusual and large item, experts believe it could be worth anywhere between $1,000 and $1,200 to the right buyer.
A Buoy Autographed David HasselHoff
David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson’s long association with the hit TV series Baywatch is well known. There are hundreds if not thousands of die-hard fans are still out there. The series ran under that title from 1989-99, and spin-offs followed, including “Baywatch Nights “ There was even a feature-length movie adaptation in 2017. Every time someone in the water needed saving, we saw the stars running in holding one of these ubiquitous buoys.
So, when a Baywatch buoy signed by David Hasselhodd turned up in the Pawn Stars store, Rick didn’t hesitate and offered its owner $375 for it, hoping it’d be snapped up by a fan.
This Marilyn Manson Figurine
There’s wonderful, then there’s weird, which is the slot we’d put this Marilyn Manson figurine into. It actually originates from a TV show called “Celebrity Deathmatch,” which was popular on MTV during the early 2000s. The show featured claymation figures of celebrities battling to the death. A seller walked into the Pawn Star store with this claymation figure, and it piqued the store’s interest enough for Rick to ask an expert to appraise it.
The end result? Rick offered the seller $500 for the figurine. However, he wanted more and didn’t accept the price. He left the store, and we're not sure whether he managed to sell the figure elsewhere.
Sir Isaac Newton’s Copy of De Natura Fossilium
Yes, it’s a textbook of mineralogy, but it’s who it belonged to that’s important here. This book was first published in 1546, and it's still possible to get hold of a copy today. However, this particular copy is very special. As you probably already know, Sir Isaac Newton was an English mathematician and physicist who developed the principles of modern physics. He's widely thought of as one of the most influential minds of the 17th century Scientific Revolution.
An expert looked at the book and verified its authenticity. The inside of the book had a plate that confirmed it came from Newton’s library, so it was valued at $20,000
2001 Super Bowl Ring
This image shows several Super Bowl rings and represents the story we are about to tell. In one episode of Pawn Stars, Rick is filmed wearing a 2001 New England Patriots Super Bowl ring on his pinky finger. The ring is from the Patriots vs. Rams game, and one of the players from the game came into the store with the ring, and Rick bought it from him.
Rick confirms he’s had it in the store for years because he really doesn’t want to sell it unless it’s for a “stupid amount of money.” So for $100,000 a recipient could become the lucky owner of this ring!
This Vintage Electroshock Machine
Here’s what turned out to be a weird and unusual piece of history. Anyone would be forgiven for wondering what this little item might be. In fact, it’s a vintage electroshock kit. In season four of the Pawn Stars show, a lady called Maureen bought this kit into the store. It's called the Master Violet Ray No. 11 and still works. Apparently, it was used to promote hair growth and enhance the skin.
Maureen asked for $100 for the creepy but weirdly fascinating piece of electrical quackery. After a small amount of haggling with Rick and Chulmee, she settled for $75, and everyone was happy.
The Jolly Chimp
A lady called Dana turns up at the Pawn Stars store with a 1950s musical Jolly Chimp, still in its original box. Introduced onto the market in the late 1950s by a Japanese company. The lady confirms she wants to sell the item because her grandchildren are “scared to death of it and run away from it.” We can’t help but agree this not-so Jolly Chimp is a bit creepy at best.
The seller was hoping to trade the battery-operated toy, which still worked really well, for just $100. However, the store says it was worth more and gave her $150. That must have been a nice surprise!
A Trading Bell From the Dutch East India Company
It’s not every day that someone walks through your pawn shop door with something like this. A lady arrived at the Pawn Stars store with this ship’s bell. She tells everyone that it dates back to 1602 and is an original Dutch East India Company Trading Bell. Unsurprisingly, she was met with some skepticism. So, the store calls in one of its array of experts to take a look at the bell.
He confirms the bell is genuine and that it could achieve around $15,000 at auction. The bell’s owner hopes it will pay her moving expenses and buy her a big-screen TV.
A Spanish Gold Bar
Here’s a gold bar that the owner hoped would be worth more than just its weight in gold. A seller arrives at the Pawn Stars store with a gold bar covered in bubble wrap that he says belonged to his grandmother, who has just passed away. The owner hopes to sell it and split the money between family members. The bar is initially valued at $24,000. Next, the guys call in a marine art expert.
He confirms the bar dates to the 1500s, is around 22+ karat, and is “definitely shipwreck treasure.” He values it at an impressive $48,000. After haggling, the owner accepts $35,000.
Aaron Burr’s Letters
Aaron Burr was a lawyer and the Vice-President under Thomas Jefferson and a controversial figure after killing Founding Father Alexander Hamilton in a duel, for which he was not charged. Instead, he was done for treason. Burr’s letters were passed down through generations of the Abbott family. But, unfortunately, they were stolen from the home of Leslie and Robert Abbott in 2012, who had kept the letters in cheap frames.
The burglar sold the letters to Sebastian Antiques, a pawn shop, for $380. The letters, along with all the other items the burglar took were returned to the Abbott family by police.
Antique Arm Bands
Back in the 1930s, one of the most prominent private collectors of “unusual money” was Howard D. Gibbs, who traveled worldwide in his quest to add to his collection. In this instance, he acquired these antique armbands from a pawn shop in Chicago, IL. Armbands like these were actually considered a form of money and are Kurdish. Instead of gold or silver coins traditionally associated with money, the Kurdish people molded precious metals into these armbands so they could quickly put them on and move in a hurry.
These same kinds of armbands were also used as a means of protection when Kurds defended themselves against their enemies, attacking them with sword and arrow attacks. Pretty cool, right?
Priceless Booty of Gold, Silver, and Stones
Back in 1912, construction workers unearthed a box filled with 400 pieces of gold, silver, jewelry, and precious stones while demolishing a tenement house close to St Paul’s Cathedral, London, England. But, rather than handing their haul into the authorities, the workers took it to a pawn shop owned by George Fabian Lawrence. Unluckily for them, Lawrence also turned out to be the inspector of excavations for the London Museum.
He realized the items were rare and valuable, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. They were named the Cheapside Hoard and are still on display in the Museum of London.
Photographs Taken By American Photographer Edward Curtis
Early American photographer Edward Curtis was known for his images of Native Americans and the American West. Long before Rick Harrison and his store appeared on their Pawn Stars TV show, he paid a woman who walked into the store just $50 for four sets of photogravures taken by Edward Curtis. This time-consuming process takes an image or negative and etches it onto a copper plate using chemicals and light.
Harrison subsequently learned that Edward Curtis's images are worth a lot of money. After doing his homework, he realized that his acquisition was, in fact, worth more in the region of $20,000.
A Grammy
The Grammy Awards have come under fire in recent years for their poor diversity record and allegations of racism, favoritism and rigging. Back in series 2, a seller walked into the Pawn Stars store with a Grammy awarded to Ronald Dumbar and General Johnson in 1970 for writing a song called “Patches.” Its owner is a lawyer who represented a guy who paid in part for his services with the Grammy.
The owner wanted $15,000 and haggled with some energy. But Rick was only prepared to go to $2,350, in the hope of selling it on for $3,000, a fifth of the initial asking price!
Archeological Artifacts Smuggled Out Of Panama
A former teacher and pawn shop owner John Shaw considered himself an “Indiana Jones'' figure, sourcing rare and culturally important items from Panama with his wife, Fatima. In fact, the pair smuggled these pre-Columbian artifacts from Panama to the US throughout the 1980s, selling them at flea markets and in their store. Unfortunately, no one realized until after Shaw’s death. Fatima gave some of the items to an ex-boyfriend to settle an unpaid debt.
The ex contacted the FBI, and the entire stash was handed back by Fatima. Finally, in 2009 the US government returned the items to Panama at a ceremony held at the FBI headquarters in Washington, DC.
Poland’s Order of the White Eagle
Pawn Stars' Rick bought what he believed to be a highly valued Polish Order of the White Eagle medal from a yard sale fan. The seller purchased this national symbol of Poland for just 75 cents, and Rick, realizing its value, gave him $6,000. When he had it valued, he learned the medal was Russian. When Russian took over part of Poland in 1795, they added their two-headed eagle to the medal.
The expert estimated that the medal was probably made in St Petersburg, Russia and that it was worth a lot more than Rick initially paid: somewhere between $30,000 and $40,000.
Stolen Pre Columbian Artifacts
Pawn store employee March Epstein bought these artifacts from a man who wanted just $100 for this 3” x 4” gold vulture sculpture. Epstein had no clue the item had in fact been stolen, alongside two other items, less than a day earlier from a National Geographic Society museum exhibit of pre-Columbian artifacts dating approximately 1400 CE. Epstein subsequently heard about the theft and the museum’s offer of a $20,000 reward.
He contacted the police who interviewed him and returned when Epstein was haggling with the seller over a second item he had also stolen. Unfortunately, the third item was never recovered.
Orphan Annie Decoder Pin
Pictured here is a decoder pin that's estimated to date back to the '30s or '40s. Back then, Annie was a well-loved radio program. At some point during these shows, they would announce a coded message and fans would use such a decoder pin to figure out the message. Fun, right? We love the gold detailing and the retro feel to this trinket. But despite that, you would still have to find the right buyer.
It's a pretty niche collector's item that might be of interest to those interested in Annie memorabilia. A quick look on eBay tells us relics like these can go for around $50.