'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison paid a fortune for silver items because his dad was excited about them
"Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison is known for being a shrewd negotiator who plays hardball to buy vintage gems at lower prices. But sometimes he is so smitten by a collectible or artifact, that he makes efforts to match the asking amount. When a guest walked in with 3,000 ounces of silver, purchased when silver was worth $3 an ounce, it was the pawn shop boss's father, Richard Harrison, who was a bit too impressed by it.
Rick Harrison paid more than $100,000 because his old man definitely was a fan of silver, as he said that it could be used to protect oneself against hyperinflation. The guest’s collection of silver was extraordinary. He had hundreds, maybe even thousands, of silver coins that were minted in the country before 1964. Apart from that, he had several silver bars and a gigantic piece of precious metal.
The big piece was the one that raised a few doubts in Rick Harrison's mind. “What I’m saying is there might be a chunk inside that’s not pure silver,” He said. Before any negotiations, that big chunk had to be tested. Testing silver isn’t complicated, but it is an arduous task, which Harrison was happy to perform.
One has to drill a deep hole through the slab, melt the shavings off, and test it. The shavings are melted and then compressed into a button-shaped solid. Nitric acid is then dropped on the tiny solid. The acid turning creamy white indicated that it was pure silver.
Thankfully, the guest did not have to get all that worked up about it because what he had was indeed pure, unadulterated silver. Once that was done, it was time to ascertain the value of the whole silver collection. Considering the weight of every item, Harrison whipped out his calculator and came to the price of $110,901. That was the price he was willing to offer the guest for the collection.
This price was in line with the silver market at the time. The guest asked Harrison if he’d be willing to go to $115,000, but that was not the case. “I mean, there’s not a lot of profit here. On $110,901, I’m probably going to make $1,500,” he said. Ultimately, all parties agreed to a price of $111,000. The guest suggested that Harrison could hold on to the silver for a while and then sell it at a higher price.
However, the fluctuating value of the metal did not make Harrison confident. He said that he was a businessman and not a speculator in the silver market. Ultimately, the guest walked away happy with a six-figure sum of money in his pocket.
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