'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison was ready to pay $45,000 for a guitar — but it still wasn't enough
"Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison is known for squeezing out vintage items at low prices, but sometimes he agrees to shell out a hefty amount for items that he considers 'Holy Grails,' and on many occasions, they're guitars. This was the case with a guest's family heirloom, a one-of-a-kind custom, vintage Gibson guitar. The owner, Paul Schwiegeraht, told Harrison that his mother's guitar had links with "The Little Rascals" and was worth a lot of money. In the end, he chose to stick to his guns, refusing to accept a $47,000 offer from the pawn boss.
In the episode, Schwiegeraht shared the incredible provenance of the instrument with Harrison and his sidekick, Chumlee. "I have a vintage guitar. It was custom-made for my mother, Peggy Eames, who was in 'Our Gang' comedies," he said. Harrison immediately recognized the franchise and said, "Cool! It was 'Our Gang' for years until it went on television. Then it was 'The Little Rascals.'" Schwiegeraht added that the guitar was a one-of-a-kind Gibson with his mother's name inscribed on it.
He shared that his mother won a trip to Hollywood around 1925 when she auditioned for a role in "Our Gang." "So she got in with the 'Our Gang' bunch while they were still doing silent movies. This was one of her 'Our Gang' movies, 'Seeing the World.' She's right here," he said, pointing at the poster of the movie.
Harrison then explained to Chumlee that "Our Gang" was one of the longest-running film series in history. "It appealed to people of all ages, even though it featured kids. Funny enough, to get the kids to remember their lines, a director used a trick. He would explain the scenes as carefully as he could. And then he would film the kids as they play acted their lines," he added.
The pawn boss then asked Schwiegeraht if he had any pictures of his mother with the guitar, and the guest told him that he had come prepared. "When she got too old to be in "Our Gang," she started doing stage acts. Singing, dancing, and she wanted a guitar to do her act, so she went to Gibson. It's probably one of the first SJs, Super Jumbos, that Gibson made," the guest explained. "The guitar is bigger than she is," he added.
The seller told Harrison that the guitar was made around 1938, and it held quite a lot of value in the market today. Coming to the asking price, he told Harrison that he was looking to get about $75,000 for the item. After hearing the staggering asking price, Harrison decided to call in his guitar expert, Jesse Amoroso. "A pre-war Gibson is a rare find. I mean, I've paid as high as $90,000 for a Gibson in here. And if this is a real 1938 Gibson Super Jumbo, it could be worth a ton," Harrison said in his interview.
Before entering the shop, Amoroso noted that if the guitar was really made in 1938, it might be the first Super Jumbo that Gibson ever made. Upon taking a closer look, it didn't take long for the expert to be sure that it was the real deal. "This is a 1938 for sure. It's got a D for the letter, and that was only used in 1938. It's a Super Jumbo. That's super cool. The custom work on it, that makes it really cool," he noted.
After learning about the owner of the guitar, Amoroso estimated that the guitar could be worth a lot of money. "This is probably a $40,000 guitar," he told Harrison and the guest. This time, Harrison didn't wait for the expert to leave and offered more money than the appraised value. "I'll give you $45,000 for the guitar," he told Schwiegeraht.
However, the seller wasn't willing to go down on his asking price. "Well, my intention was that the money would be used as a down payment on, like, a getaway cottage, call it Peggy's Cabin. My asking price, $75,000, is really where I still want to stay on it," he reasoned.
Harrison then countered with a $47,000 offer, saying that it would take a lot of time for him to sell the item as the guitar is one-of-a-kind and he doesn't know if collectors would be interested in buying it. Unfortunately for Harrison, the seller didn't feel it was a fair offer, and he called off the deal.
"I think I'll haul it around a little bit longer. There's a lot more involved here than money. The family heirloom part of it is real strong," Schwiegeraht said in the end. He added that the item could serve as a memorial when Peggy's Cabin finally becomes a reality.
