'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison buys ex-US President's letter for $1,300 from disappointed seller
Memorabilia belonging to popular rock legends, sports stars, and American presidents has so far fetched hefty prices on 'Pawn Stars.' This is why a seller who had a rare letter signed by former US President and Civil War general James A. Garfield was hoping to get big bucks for the item. As expected, Rick Harrison decided to play hardball, and although the guest was disappointed with the valuation by an expert, he did manage to get a fair deal.
The letter was signed by Garfield when he was still a general and hadn't been elected President of the United States of America. The guest, who got it as part of a trade with a friend, was told that it was worth around $4,000 to $6,000, and was expecting to get $3,000 from Harrison. The pawn shop boss was fascinated to see the letter from the President, who was only in office for six months before his assassination. But he still decided to call in a forensic documents examiner, Drew, to ascertain the letter's value.
The expert did acknowledge that the signature was authentic, but also added that the document would've been worth a lot more if Garfield had signed it during his presidency. This was disappointing for the guest, but he agreed to lower his asking price to $2,000. At this point, Harrison demanded $1,000, and after some back and forth, the two parties decided to seal the deal for $1,300.
Another such document that turned up on "Pawn Stars" was a note signed by Albert Einstein. The guest who brought it wanted $18,000 for the mathematical treasure, but while Einstein memorabilia is in demand globally, Harrison wasn't impressed enough to go that high.
"It makes me feel a little less smart," Harrison chuckled after discovering the almost forgotten equation on a yellowed piece of paper. "I'm here at the pawn shop today to sell my handwritten Albert Einstein math scripture. I'm looking to get $18,000 if I'm able to strike a deal today, I'd probably just trade it out for something as special as that. This is very interesting," Justin quipped.
"We have no proof that it's Einstein, it'd be really nice to be sighted or something, but realistically, we have a piece of paper with a bunch of math doodles on," Harrison countered. He then proceeded to call in an expert to examine the rare note.
A rare Albert Einstein 72nd Birthday picture of playful sticking his tongue out has been sold for a whopping USD 125,000 at an auction. pic.twitter.com/qjmyZzDNR8
— PeakLife (@PeakLifeIndia) August 1, 2017
The expert revealed that, "Math calculations by Einstein, these things could go for upwards of 50,000 dollars." He also explained that it would be extremely rare to come across the scientist's signature on any of his equation papers. Another quick observation revealed that it was indeed an authentic piece of writing.
Note with Einstein's theory on life auctioned for $1.3 million - says Jerusalem auction house. https://t.co/ApxYbbrOHi pic.twitter.com/Clk1D0DMak
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 25, 2017
The expert even ended up comparing the writing with a few of the other works by Einstein and declared that the note was indeed authentic. However, Harrison didn't budge and quoted a dismal price for the rare memorabilia. He said, "I'll give you $3,000 for it, I mean that's like the most money that makes sense to me." Unfortunately, the deal fell through after Justin countered it with $14,000. Harrison refused to negotiate and let one of the rarest notes by Einstein in history slip out.
More on Market Realist:
'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison pays big money for a guitar owned by a legendary musician
'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison pays $100,000 for 'holy grail' item signed by Abraham Lincoln
