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' boss Rick Harrison once paid $1,000 for a $1 bill — all because of a small detail

The guest at one point might have even believed that his bill was worth a five-figure sum.
PUBLISHED AUG 4, 2025
Screenshot showing the guest, Rick Harrison, and Corey Harrison on "Pawn Stars" (Cover image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)
Screenshot showing the guest, Rick Harrison, and Corey Harrison on "Pawn Stars" (Cover image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

"Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison is known to be a tough negotiator who doesn't loosen his purse strings easily, no matter how fascinated he is by a collectible or vintage artifact. That's why it was surprising when he paid more than a thousand dollars to get his hands on a $1 bill. Of course, this was not an ordinary dollar bill, since it had the face of Martha Washington, the first ever First Lady of the United States.

The guest said that he found it in a book and hoped to get $1,500 by selling it. However, the bill wasn’t graded. If graded by a professional, it could have turned out to be worth five figures. The guest did not know about this, so when Harrison told him that what he had could be upwards of $20,000, he was pretty stoked.

In came US currency expert Peter Treglia, who said, “This is a 1891 $1 silver certificate,” before adding, “Well, the overall condition is pretty fantastic, actually.” He then took out a light used to detect anomalies in the bills. He said that, unlike coins, paper currency could be manipulated. Folded currency could be ironed out to make it look better than it was. However, there were no issues with this one.

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

“This is really high grade,” he said. “At first glance, appears to be flawless, and if so, could be worth upwards of $20,000. It is in absolutely awesome condition. The best a bill can be is ‘gem crisp uncirculated’. And the worst is a ‘poor’. This is kind of towards the top end of the range.” But upon further inspection, it turned out that the bill was not an uncirculated one.

“It does have a slight, very slight centerfold, which takes it out of the uncirculated category. It is not in the top range. As far as value, I would put a conservative retail value of around $1,500,” Treglia added. That might not be a five-figure sum, but it was what the guest had asked for in the first place. Harrison, of course, offered $800 at first. This was too little for the guest, and he bargained at $1,400.

Screenshot of the bill being examined by the expert. (Image credit: YouTube | Pawn Stars)
Screenshot of the bill being examined by the expert. (Image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

After some time, Harrison had no choice but to come up to $1,100. That was the agreed-upon price by both parties. Currency is not rare on “Pawn Stars,” and the cast has paid big money to obtain some in the past. Sometimes, even a high five-figure sum is not enough to purchase a tiny coin. That’s what happened one time: a seller named Mark brought a 1867 Proof Shield Nickel. Harrison offered him $50,000 for it, but Mark was adamant that it was worth more.

More on Market Realist:

Pawn Stars tell guest his 1950s dollar bill is now worth thousands — as it's signed by two historic men

'Pawn Stars' guest brings 2 pages from the Gutenberg Bible and Rick Harrison paid a fortune for it

'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison lets a 200-year-old gold coin slip by as he won't offer $1,000 more

RELATED TOPICS PAWN STARS
MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The company made sure that pets were well-dressed and taken care of on the owner's wedding day.
2 hours ago
The player, Leslie, decided to trust her gut instead of listening to the audience,and it really paid off.
3 hours ago
The company had more than $18 million in sales in just the 12 months ahead of taping.
7 hours ago
The pawn shop owner did not expect the grinder to be worth so much money.
1 day ago
The host of the show loved the answer and did not hold back on expressing his feelings.
1 day ago
The guest got a lot more than he hoped for after the expert authenticated the item.
1 day ago
Mark Cuban wanted to take over his entire business and made a generous offer, but Pizza Pack founder Tate Koenig wasn't interested.
2 days ago
The host had a hard time finding a response as he remained speechless for several seconds.
2 days ago
Applicants who are 18 and above can take up more than one test every 12 months, but they cannot leave a test incomplete.
2 days ago
After a tough pitch and some criticism, Sheets Laundry Club founders Chris Videau and Chris Campbell managed to bag a deal.
3 days ago
It was a witty answer, but the respondents of the survey didn't think that way.
3 days ago
Chumlee wanted to try out the game even though he knew that it was already shot.
3 days ago
The entrepreneur instead wanted to make a deal with guest shark Sir Richard Branson and some others.
3 days ago
Every aspiring contestant needs to be a citizen of the United States of America.
4 days ago
"Well, is a great story, and it's just a great piece to you know to hang on to," the guest said after learning the real value of the folk art.
4 days ago
"Disgusting. Used to be a family-friendly show. Cancel Family Feud," a viewer criticized on X.
4 days ago
He explained how the final two digits of a price tag give a subtle indication regarding the product's condition.
5 days ago
With active investigations now underway, it has been discovered that the products have been processed by BMS Foods of Indonesia.
6 days ago
"Starting in the mid-2000s, Jeopardy has been traveling less, probably due to budget constraints," a fan pointed out on Reddit.
7 days ago
"If my show gets canceled, I’ve got three more. I don’t have any free time, but I have 12 jobs," Harvey said.
7 days ago