'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison calls film footage 'one-of-a-kind' — but refused to even make an offer
The item’s uniqueness kept Rick Harrison from making an offer, as there was no reference point for its value.
Aug. 27 2025, Published 12:46 p.m. ET
Rick Harrison is often a sucker for historical items on “Pawn Stars.” If that history is American, he is all the more intrigued. However, in an earlier episode of the show, the pawn shop owner declined to even make an offer for something he called “priceless” and “one-of-a-kind.” Some would say that he was discouraged by what the guest had asked for it but Harrison had his own reasons not to make an offer, and they made sense.
The item brought in by the guest was film footage from the 1930s, which showed one of the most popular US Presidents of all time, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Harrison’s father, Richard, was always a massive admirer of FDR, and he made no attempt to hide his excitement when the guest revealed what it was. He said that the video was made personally, which meant that it had never been seen by the public before.
He got it from an antique dealer. The man who shot the video, in all probability, had his name written on the cover. It was JV Malcom Jr. The guest said that he was an attorney for the Red Cross at the time, and had access to important persons like the President of the United States. Richard was excited at the prospect of seeing what was on that tape, and well so was his son.
The video was hazy, but that’s understandable since it was shot in the 1930s. It showed FDR sitting in his open-top car and being driven to the White House. This was a great piece of history that wasn’t seen by the public, and that’s what made it priceless. However, it was not a setting that the public had ever seen. There have been several videos of FDR riding in his car that have been out there for many years.
What would have been really intriguing was if the guest had a video of the president indoors in his wheelchair. FDR had polio, but the government did a great job of covering it up during his time in office. Still, this was a unique item, and that was the issue. “It’s one-of-a-kind. And the problem you have with one-of-a-kind items is you can’t go back and reference what the last one sold for,” Rick said.
His father quipped that the tape might not get any bids at an auction but could also end up getting a massive six-figure sum. There was no way of knowing how valuable this footage would be, as there was nothing to measure it against. For that reason, Rick said no to offering a deal. The guest had initially wanted $90,000 for it. The pawn shop owner’s reaction might suggest that that’s where he was discouraged from making an offer.
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