'Pawn Stars' guest wanted $500 for his Aztec item — turns it down even after being offered $2,500
Guests on “Pawn Stars” do know that the items they bring are going to fetch a good amount of money, but at times, they underestimate the artifact's value. One of the most unique items that have turned up on the show is an Aztec death whistle. The only problem with such items is that they are quite frequently faked. The guest who brought it had the same concern when Chumlee decided to call in an expert.
The guest was hoping to get $500 for the whistle, but Chumlee said that if it was authentic, it would be worth more money. So, he decided to bring in Bob Dodge, founder of Artemis Testing Lab. One of the first things that the expert said after checking out the whistle was a cause for concern for the guest. “So, out of every authentic Aztec whistle, there’s gotta be a hundred fakes,” he mentioned.
This one, though, was not a fake, and Dodge was impressed almost immediately after holding it in his hands. He said that he had been a collector for three decades but had never come across this particular item. It was something that he had been looking for in those three decades. “The opportunity to see and have one in your hand is like finding the Holy Grail,” he said.
The expert then revealed that these whistles were used by the Aztec soldiers to scare the “bejesus” out of their enemies when going to war. A single whistle can produce a blood-curdling sound, so imagine with a hundred of these blowing together could do to the morale of enemies. Dodge figured this out thanks to the black dots on its surface.
“Those black dots are the result of Manganese, a mineral being leeched out of the soil and growing onto the pottery,” he said. “They (black dots) will appear in about a hundred years, but for them to get this size and that many…five, six hundred years.” This was undoubtedly the real deal, but the million-dollar question, as the expert put it, was whether it worked or not. That is a big factor in ascertaining value.
The guest claimed to have blown it in the past and was asked to do it again by Chumlee. He happily obliged, put his lips to the whistle, and out came a shrill screeching sound. “It’s real. It’s valuable,” the expert added. When asked how much he thought the whistle was worth, Dodge said that he could “easily” see it selling for $5,000. Neither Chumlee nor the guest could believe what they had heard.
Now with the price all jacked up, $500 was not going to cut it for the guest. The highest Chumlee went was $2,500. However, this was also not enough, and the parties could not agree on a deal that day. They all had a fun time with the whistle, though.
