'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison offered $10,000 for coin linked to the Titanic — but the deal sank
While many rare coins have shown up on "Pawn Stars," one of them stands out for its incredible provenance. This was the coin that once belonged to John W. Gill, a victim of the Titanic ship sinking. The owner, Frederic, brought the NGC-graded half dollar to Rick Harrison's table, leaving him amazed. While the pawn boss made an honest bid of $10,000 for the coin, he failed to close the deal as the seller wasn't looking to settle for anything less than $75,000, as that's how much it cost him.
In the episode, Frederic brought the coin to Harrison, claiming it was something he would be immensely interested in. "This coin has an incredible link to one of the most famous maritime disasters. It has an unbroken chain of pedigree all the way back to 1912," he said in his interview. Harrison read the information on the graded coin, which said it was a 1906, fifty-cent piece, that had been improperly cleaned. It also carried the name of John W. Gill, one of the victims of the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
Since all the information was readily available on the case, Harrison asked the seller for his price. In his interview, Frederick had mentioned that he paid $75,000 for the coin about a year ago, so he told the pawn shop boss that he was looking to get $125,000 for the item. The seller reasoned that previously, a $1 bill that came from another victim sold for the same amount, so he was looking to fetch just as much. Hearing the figure, Harrison decided to call in a coin expert, David Vagi, to authenticate the item and share a better idea of its valuation.
Upon examining the coin, Vagi was also impressed. "Wow, it's a fantastic item!" he exclaimed. He then added that he had heard about Gill, an unfortunate victim of the disaster. "He was 24 years old, a second-class passenger, and he left his new bride to start a new life. There are very detailed records that I was able to access that describe the kinds of things that were found on Mr Gill's body," Vagi shared. He added that apart from the coins, there was a gold watch and a gold ring engraved with his initials.
Talking about the coin's valuation, Vagi noted that similar pieces were sold twice in the past—once for $3,850 and most recently, earlier that year, for $21,000. "So, that would be the value," he told Harrison. This was disappointing news for Frederick, as he had paid more than three times that amount.
As soon as Vagi left, Harrison expressed his concerns with the item. "It's something where the price waxes and weighs a lot," he said, before offering him $10,000. At this point, the seller admitted that there won't be a deal as he was hoping to get at least $75,000.
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