'Pawn Stars' guest loses his cool after the expert brought down the price of his special guitar
Rick Harrison of "Pawn Stars" is known to American viewers for his smooth negotiation skills to get rare items at prices lower than their valuation. But sometimes, guests walk in with cheap items that they believe to be expensive, and they don't go down without a fight. This happened when an elderly guest brought Semie Moseley's prototype "Gospel Guitar" to the world's most famous pawn shop, believing that it was worth over $100,000. Thus, when Harrison's friend and guitar expert, Jesse Amoroso, estimated that it wasn't worth more than $25,000, things got pretty heated up in the shop.
In the episode, the guest brought the guitar, which was designed by the great Gospel musician, Semie Moseley. "Moseley was a great gospel musician, and he founded the Mosite Guitar Company, and I got this guitar directly from him, 44
years ago," the guest claimed. He shared that it was a prototype called the "Spanish Blue." "He built these flamenco guitars with violin joints, and they had such a remarkable tone that Semie thought gospel musicians should have," he said.
Acknowledging the provenance of the item, Harrison said, "That's extremely interesting." He added that the guitar looked brand new, and since the guest had all the paperwork, it could be an exciting find for his collection. "Jimmy Hendricks, The Beach Boys, Kirk Cain, these are just a few of the guys who have played Mosites. So, if this is the actual gospel prototype, there will definitely be a market for me to sell," Harrison said.
When asked about the price of the guitar, the guest said he was looking for about $100,000 for it. Shocked by the asking price, Harrison told the owner that he would need to get it checked by an expert. "It's not that I don't trust you, but you know if I started trusting my customers, I wouldn't be in business for long," he said. He then called in Amoroso of Cowtown Guitars to come take a look at the item and share an estimate of its value. After taking a look at the guitar, Amoroso acknowledged that it was a cool instrument given its history. After examining the item, the expert revealed that it was made in 1967 or 1968, as the serial number on it was GA09. Coming to the value of the item, Amoroso shared that one similar guitar sold in the range of $35,000 to $40,000 and in the current market, this item would be worth $25,000.
The number immediately upset the guest, who refused to believe the expert's appraisal. "That's absolutely ridiculous! Because it's been appraised over the years. Back in the '90s, it was appraised at a minimum of $100,000, and that was in the '90s. The guitar has been insured for $100,000 or better," he said. However, Amoroso was confident in his appraisal as he said, "I mean I can insure my shoes for $100,000 with an insurance company." He further added that even the prototypes of Les Paul, the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar, did not go for $100,000 at auctions.
But the guest wasn't willing to budge. "I can't agree with your assessment," he told Amoroso. In the end, things got so heated that the expert left the shop in a hurry. "I'm just kind of glad I got out of there without a black eye," he said in an interview. In the end, Harrison trusted the word of the expert and refused to offer anything close to $100,000 for the guitar. Hence, the guest left the shop without a deal.
In the end, the owner was still confident that Harrison and his expert were wrong. "I think he just made a huge mistake. I know when it goes to an auction house that recognizes this guitar, I'll probably get 200,000 or more for it," he said.
