'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison offered $50 for a vintage gun — the expert made him pay $16,000
Rick Harrison may not be an appraiser, but he has an eye for valuable items and the skill to bag them at a lower price when they show up on “Pawn Stars.” But sometimes, even the pawn shop boss can misjudge things he doesn't fully understand, such as collectible Pokémon cards that he could've sold for millions. Something like that happened when a guest walked in with a gun made by one of the finest gun-makers of all time. At first, Harrison was ready to pay just $50 for it, but it turned out that the firearm was worth $20,000.
The gun was crafted by Boutet, who was one of the finest at his job at the time. He was so good that he was the royal gunsmith of Louis XVI and Napoleon. The design of the gun made it look absolutely stunning. Rick's son Corey Harrison asked his father if he should call in an expert. “If he wants 50 bucks for it, I’ll just give him that now,” he said. The guest chuckled and made it clear that he was not selling it for such a low price, and asked for ten grand.
Then, the expert Alex Cranmer, CEO of International Military Antiques, walked into the store and was stunned upon seeing the gun. “Holy mole,” he said as soon as he set his eyes on it. He said that simple Boutets easily retail at $10,000, but this one was more special than that, just based on the intricate design. The expert wanted to see how well it worked, as that would make it a lot easier to value it. The guest, along with Alex, Rick, and Corey, came to the shooting range. The expert had set up a couple of fruits as targets and said that he had been waiting half his life to shoot a Boutet. He also revealed some more details, like where the gun was made and its serial number, at the range. He then got into position and took a shot. It worked exactly the way he had hoped it would.
This was good news for the guest, who looked proud as the gun hit the mark. Alex then said that, in that condition, the gun would sell for $30,000. “Do you see the smile on my face?” the guest asked sarcastically. He then asked for $20,000, which he considered to be a fair price. Rick, however, wanted to pay $15,000.
The guest then countered with $18,000, and Rick came back with $16,000. “It’s a lot more than I thought I would get. We’ll do 16,” the guest said, much to the pawn shop owner’s satisfaction.
