'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison buys an authentic piece of American history — for just $100
Rick Harrison is known for being a ruthless negotiator on "Pawn Stars," and he starts by making a ridiculously low offer from which he can get the item for a price suitable for him. But things went to another level when the 60-year-old only paid $100 for a piece of American history. Harrison has never made a secret of his love and fascination with the history of the United States, and this item was a remnant of that time.
The guest had brought in a piece of fabric that he had found in his grandmother’s house after she had passed away. He called her a frugal woman, but was not sure if what he owned was worth any money. The fabric had multiple portraits of a man, which Harrison believed to be former President William Henry Harrison. Turns out that the pawn shop owner’s grandmother used to tell them that the family was related to him.
President Harrison is the only one who passed away in office, after only a month in power, due to a cold. Back in the early 1800s, medicine was nowhere near as developed as it is today. But before Harrison could offer a deal, he needed to be sure that this was the real deal. So, he called in an expert, Dana, the President of Early American History Auctions. He also believed on first glance that the portrait was of the former President.
The expert said that it was a political textile that would have been issued for his campaign during the 1840s. Dana then pulled out a magnifying glass to determine if the fabric really was made back then. The things he looked for were some signs of aging, but there were hardly any. However, the piece had all the features of a fabric from that time period.
Dana was not able to confirm whether it was real at the time, but believed that if it was authentic, it would be worth $300 to $500. Harrison decided to take a chance on it, as he might be related to the man in the portrait negotiated a $100 deal with the guest for it. A day later, the expert came back to the shop as he had researched a bit more about the fabric and had some new information.
The man in the portrait was not William Henry Harrison; it was the Marquis de Lafayette. The Marquis was a Frenchman who supported the American Revolutionary War effort and became a close friend of the first President, George Washington. After learning that Harrison had paid only a hundred bucks for it, the expert was impressed.
The fabric was genuine and was either made during the 1820s or after the death of the Marquis in 1834 as a commemorative piece. Either way, it was a genuine piece that could fetch around $200 to $300. Harrison’s gamble paid off well.
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