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' seller wanted $50k for Kurt Cobain signature — but Chumlee’s offer wasn't enough

Not only was the signature authentic, but also rare, as it was a full autograph on a personal document.
PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO
Screenshots showing the guest and Chumlee on "Pawn Stars." (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)
Screenshots showing the guest and Chumlee on "Pawn Stars." (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

Kurt Cobain is a man who needs no introduction, and even $10,000 was not enough to purchase one of his signed items on “Pawn Stars.” The guest had brought an unusual memorabilia belonging to the former Nirvana frontman, and wanted way more than ten grand to be able to part with it. Unfortunately, Chumlee was not willing to spend that kind of money, and a deal was not agreed upon between the two parties that day.

The guest owned a rare full signature of Cobain, but it was not on a regular piece of paper. The musician had signed his name on a piece of an insurance document for his car. This truly was an unusual find for the shop, and Chumlee knew it. The pawn shop employee believed that Cobain was the biggest rock star of his generation. However, he did not know much about its value.

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

The guest said that he had purchased it from a big collector in Seattle and that he wanted $50,000 for it. This was a more personal document rather than a regular autograph, but Chumlee still had to be sure. So, he decided to call in an expert. In came Steve Grad, a principal authenticator at Beckett Authentication Services. Even he admitted that finding Cobain’s full signature on anything was exceedingly rare.

The Nirvana frontman was not a fan of signing autographs, and he only ever signed a few. Before Grad could place a value on the car insurance document, he wanted to make sure that the signature itself was authentic. He first put it under a magnifying device to see if it truly had been signed or just printed. Thankfully, there was clear proof of a pen being used to make the signature, so that was not a concern.

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

Next up, it was time to make sure that the signature actually belonged to Cobain. To do this, the expert compared it with another full signature of the grunge rock icon that he’d done on a contract. There might have been some differences, but overall, the two matched enough for Grad to conclude that it was authentic. He then said that the document could bring in $20,000 at auction.

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

This was quite less than what the guest had asked for, but he did not seem very disappointed. Chumlee then said that he would be willing to pay $10,000 for the document, but this was much too less for the guest. He said that he would be willing to sell it if he received $18,000. Unfortunately, the pawn shop employee was not going to go that high, and no deal was made.

More on Market Realist

'Pawn Stars' guest wanted $50,000 for Prince's tambourine, but Rick Harrison thought otherwise

'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison loved this vintage Mercedes but refuses to buy it for over $20,000

'Pawn Stars' guest gets $200,000 offer for jewelry from Corey Harrison — but still turns it down

RELATED TOPICS PAWN STARS
MORE ON MARKET REALIST
It was a fantastic solve for the contestant as the puzzle did not look easy.
23 minutes ago
Not only was the signature authentic, but also rare, as it was a full autograph on a personal document.
2 hours ago
The guest wanted a lot less for the items and was happy to get a some extra cash.
22 hours ago
Steve Harvey asked the contestant, Andrea, to demonstrate her answer, and that's exactly what she did.
23 hours ago
The co-host revealed one of her hidden talents and fans were left impressed.
1 day ago
The entrepreneur might not have hoped to get so much money but he wasn't going to say no.
1 day ago
"He's got those American Idol dramatics ingrained in him," a fan pointed out on Reddit.
1 day ago
“We finally got our first $75,000 winner in the Ryan Seacrest era!!!” a fan praised.
2 days ago
It is a known fact that the first Barbie doll debuted in March 1959 during an annual toy fair in New York City.
2 days ago
The contestant also won the biggest prize ever in the show's history.
2 days ago
The duo disclosed that Chompshop was keen on building STEM skills in children with their monthly subscription-based projects. 
2 days ago
The item could bring in a five-figure sum as per the expert, which the guest didn't expect.
3 days ago
Mr. Wonderful did not want to be flexible but the entrepreneur made him an irrefutable offer.
3 days ago
Some believe the strategy to be too cruel, while others believe that it was a gamble on winning.
4 days ago
The contestant had her hands raised in celebration, only to be left disappointed and red-faced.
4 days ago
In a recent video on Instagram, the current host of the show harshly criticized his own clothing choices.
4 days ago
The shark believed that he was the best man for the job and got the deal he wanted.
4 days ago
Fans of the show were disappointed with the loss but it was still a good attempt.
5 days ago
Mr. Wonderful said that he wanted to make things interesting and changed his offer at the last minute.
5 days ago