'Pawn Stars' seller left dejected as expert gives $450 valuation for painting that cost him $8,000

The guest could do nothing more than accept his bad luck, and that is exactly what he did.

PUBLISHED OCT 11, 2025

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

Some guests on “Pawn Stars” come in believing that their item is worth thousands of dollars. However, when an expert comes in and devalues that item significantly, they are usually left utterly disappointed. That is what happened in an earlier episode of the show, in which one guest brought an etching by James McNeill Whistler, which he believed was worth a ton of money, only to be disappointed by the expert’s analogy.

Whistler is one of the most popular American painters of his time. As far as Rick Harrison was concerned, the painting called ‘Whistler’s Mother’ was worth $100 million. He also had quite a bit of knowledge about the artist’s early life, which the guest seemed quite intrigued by. “Whistler is a really interesting guy, and he became a famous artist because he was really bad in school,” the pawn shop owner explained.

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

Turns out that the artist was expelled from West Point due to poor grades, but with a recommendation from his drawing teacher, he was able to land a government job drawing topographical maps. After that, Whistler immersed himself in art and even went to Paris to study the subject. He made a name for himself in France before coming to the States and becoming a highly successful artist. Etchings, at the time, were the fastest way that he or other artists could get paid.

The guest said that he wanted $8,000 for the etching, but Harrison had no idea what it was worth. It could be worth that much money, as it was a Whistler etching. However, before Harrison could make an offer, he had to be absolutely sure about it. So, he decided to call in an expert, and he was probably very thankful that he did. The guest, on the other hand, might not have been too pleased.

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

In came a man named Chad Simpson, and he immediately understood who the subject in the etching was. It was of Charles Drouet, who was a popular sculptor and artist in his own right. He then said that the etching came in three states, the first of which was made in 1859. Whistler then sold it to the Fine Art Society, which printed it with the cancellation lines. That was the second state.

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

This one, however, was the third state, and it was made after the death of the artist. So, it was never going to be as valuable as the first two. “This piece, as an original, is worth $40,000. The second state is worth around $9,000, $10,000. As a third state, this is worth around $450,” the expert said. The disappointment in the guest’s face was evident, but there was nothing he could do.

He did not take the devaluation hard and just accepted that he had not done as much research as he should have. Ultimately, the guest decided to hold on to the artwork instead of letting it go for just $100.