'Pawn Stars' guest says 'it’s all about the Benjamins' after getting more money than she expected
Rick Harrison's focus on "Pawn Stars" is always to secure valuable artifacts and collectibles at a significantly lower price than their actual value, to squeeze out maximum profits. He always calls an expert for an appraisal of the item to avoid paying more than he has to. But that move worked against him in an episode of the show, and a guest who wanted $500 in the first place ended up going home with $750. “I feel that that was a fair price. It’s all about the Benjamins,” the guest said after getting paid.
The item in question was a signed cabinet photograph of the 23rd President of the United States, Benjamin Harrison. Rick had doubts about the authenticity of the signature and believed that it would hardly be worth $10 if that were found to be fake. So, he decided to call in an expert who confirmed that the photograph was, in fact, signed by the then-President of the country. The guest was happy when she learned about this, as her valuation of the photograph was a lot less. She then asked the “Pawn Stars” boss for $800, and Harrison said that the best he could do was $700, as he had to frame it and then sell it. The expert had ascertained the picture’s value to be $1,250. The final figure that both parties agreed upon was $750.
The expert also mentioned, “If you see along here, there are those extra lines. I don’t think this is a first-generation photograph. In a first-generation photograph, the lines are very sharp.” That brought its value down a bit, but the guest was still quite happy.
Presidential items might not make frequent appearances on “Pawn Stars,” but they do force Harrison to shell out a lot of money. That is what he did when a guest brought the cigar box used by late President John F. Kennedy during his time in the Oval Office. “It’s one of those things I could only dream about,” he said about the item. What made it even more valuable was the fact that there were eight unsmoked cigars still inside.
The guest wanted $95,000, but Rick was never going to spend that kind of money. Instead, he offered to pay $50,000. This was a lot less than what the guest wanted. All parties agreed on a deal for $60,000 after some negotiation. "I took sixty. It's fine because if I had put it in an auction, I would have had to wait about six months. We need money now to get this new facility, so I'm good," the guest said.
Rick was able to make a profit on the item as he later sold it to a buyer for $75,000. "It was pretty cool having JFK's cigar box in the shop, and I'm a little sad letting it go," he said later on.
