ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

'Pawn Stars' guest brings a guitar that belonged to rock legend — then he showed up at the store

Phil Collen and his band need no introduction as they are considered legends in their genre.
PUBLISHED MAY 29, 2025
Screenshots showing guitarist Phil Collen and guest on "Pawn Stars." (Cover image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)
Screenshots showing guitarist Phil Collen and guest on "Pawn Stars." (Cover image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

Guitars used by rock stars are among the items on "Pawn Stars" that Rick Harrison considers a holy grail. Def Leppard is one of the most legendary rock bands in the history of music. So when a guest on “Pawn Stars” brought a guitar to the show, which she claimed belonged to the band’s guitarist, Phil Collen, Rick Harrison exclaimed, “Holy s**t.” What made things even better was the fact that Collen came into the store later on and played the guitar for everyone present at that point in time.

The guest had originally wanted $10,000, but Harrison was never going to pay that much money without having an expert come in and check out the instrument. After having a look at it, the expert said that it could easily bring in $10,000 to $12,000. The unique thing about this guitar was that it was painted. The expert said that he was not an art guy but knew someone who’d be able to understand it better. No one at that point expected Def Leppard’s frontman Joe Elliott to walk in. “Is that Def Leppard? No frickin’ way,” Harrison said. The guitarist got straight to work as he looked over the instrument and confirmed that it was one that he had painted. However, he also revealed that it was one that he had practiced splash painting on 10 such guitars.

Screenshot showing the guitar. (Image credit: YouTube | Pawn Stars)
Screenshot showing the guitar. (Image credit: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

What was even cooler was the fact that Collen had written his first name at the base of the instrument in Japanese. He then proceeded to play it in the store, which caught the attention of everyone present. It was all the confirmation Harrison needed about its authenticity, and it was now time to get down to negotiations.



 

The guest still asked for $10,000, but Harrison did not want to pay more than $8,500 for it. That was the price that was agreed upon. The pawn store owner had initially offered $8,000 but raised his offer by $500 after considering the fact that Collen had just played it a few moments ago. This was not the only time a popular guitar player turned up at the shop to check out a guitar.

In a different episode of the show, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist DJ Ashba showed up to check out a guitar that a guest claimed to have belonged to him. It was a custom Les Paul by Gibson, and the guest wanted $5,000. Harrison decided to call on the guitarist to help him, and Ashba immediately recognized it. "This right here is the Holy Grail," he said.



 

Harrison then offered to pay $20,000 for the instrument, and Ashba agreed to immediately pay back the pawn store owner for it. He really liked the guitar and wanted it back. All in all, it was the perfect day for everyone involved. “I would love that,” the guitarist said after learning that he had a chance to buy back his beloved instrument.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
She and Drew Carey pretended that it was a planned fall and even bowed to the audience.
4 minutes ago
The business makes a big part of its revenue from its membership plans, and it hopes to bolster them
20 hours ago
A couple of videos that claimed so have gone viral on TikTok, causing the masses to panic.
21 hours ago
The host seemingly did not want the compliment at first, but his demeanor changed later on.
23 hours ago
Fans of the show were impressed with her skills, but the Bonus Round was a bit too tough.
1 day ago
The rumor had never been substantiated with facts but it still swirled around for many years.
1 day ago
The entrepreneurs did not want to disclose their costs on TV, which Mark Cuban did not take well.
1 day ago
While being energetic is good, fans want the contestants to be more genuine than they seem.
1 day ago
The item was a stick that had memories of the guest's grandfather carved into it.
1 day ago
The host had no idea about the popular cartoon series and his expressions were hilarious.
1 day ago
Despite messing up, the co-founders of Eco Nuts wanted a Shark to work 16 hours a day for them.
1 day ago
The contestant said she was bad at it but there is no excuse for mistaking a continent for a country
2 days ago
Corey Harrison did not know much about the jersey, but he got a lot of help from the expert.
2 days ago
The contestant would have become the first man to achieve the big prize.
3 days ago
The question was about some of the most popular boy bands of all time.
3 days ago
The guest did not create a fuss but was adamant about the authenticity of his item.
3 days ago
The host's speech made for a sombre moment but he found a way to make that funny as well.
3 days ago
Fans once again called out the puzzle, which, according to them, was too tough.
5 days ago
The guest wanted a five-figure sum at first but was left disappointed by Harrison's stubbornness.
5 days ago
Rick Harrison was not as careful with this item as one would have expected him to be.
5 days ago