Pawn Stars’ boss Rick Harrison can’t believe the deal he got on Winston Churchill’s historic letter

The pawn shop owner has always been a big fan of WWII memorabilia and this was no different.

PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO

Screenshots showing Rick Harrison and the guest on "Pawn Stars" (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

Apart from legendary guitars and memorabilia linked to former American presidents, "Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison is a sucker for items from the World War II era, as well. So, when a guest came in on an earlier episode of the show and claimed to have a letter signed by Winston Churchill, he was naturally excited. The guest initially said that he wanted $5,000 for it, but Harrison’s exceptional negotiating skills made him agree to a price of $800.

Screenshot showing the signature. (Image credit: YouTube | Pawn Stars) — Screenshot showing the signature. (Image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

Harrison immediately understood that the letter was written on a typewriter, thanks to the spacing between the letters. In the letter, Churchill supposedly turned down an army general as he was asked to write the foreword for his book. Everything about the letter looked to be in order, but the pawn shop owner wanted to be sure before making any kind of offer. So, he called in an expert to take a look at it.

In came a man named Dana, President of Early American History Auctions. The first thing he did was take a look at the contents of the letter. The expert came to the conclusion that this was written to one of the youngest US Army generals of the time. “The letter is really cool because it is talking about another military man, General Mark Clark, the youngest Major General in World War II,” he pointed out.

Screenshot showing the contents of the letter. (Image credit: YouTube | Pawn Stars) — Screenshot showing the contents of the letter. (Image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

Turns out that Clark had written a book called ‘Calculated Risk’ and had asked Churchill to write the foreword, which the former British Prime Minister declined. Once that was clear, the expert moved on to the more technical aspects of the document.

The paper was high-quality and British, and the expert believed that it was from Churchill’s personal stationery. He then took a closer look at the signature and found no discrepancies. All in all, this was a genuine piece. The excitement of the guest could not be hidden. Dana then said that at auction, it could bring $1,500 to $2,000, perhaps even a little more. That was all that Harrison needed to know.

Screenshot showing the expert (L) and the guest. (Image credit: YouTube | Pawn Stars) — Screenshot showing the expert (L) and the guest. (Image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

The guest knew that he was not going to get $5,000, and so, he asked for $1,500 at first. Harrison then explained that on a bad day, the letter could only bring $1,000 and offered to pay $700. The guest then asked for $900, and the pawn shop owner said that he’d meet in the middle with $800. That was a good enough offer as far as the guest was concerned, and a deal was struck.