'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison offers $100,000 for a Roman coin but the guest wasn't impressed
It takes a lot for Rick Harrison to loosen his purse strings on "Pawn Stars" and come up with a six-figure offer. But that still doesn't mean that things have to go his way, as sellers have their own priorities. In one episode, a guest who brought a Roman coin from 42 BC refused to accept $110,000 for his precious item. The coin from "Ides of March" that marked the celebration of the killing of Julius Caesar by Brutus was the one that Harrison desperately wanted. In the end, things didn't go his way as the owner refused to accept anything below $140,000.
In the episode, the guest named John shared that he had a significant coin that he wanted to sell to get some cash to buy a few more interesting coins. "I think the coin is the holy grail of Roman coins," he claimed in his interview. After taking a closer look at the coin, Harrison got visibly excited as he knew the significance of it. "It says Ides of March, and that whole line became famous because of the Shakespearean play where Julius Caesar goes and sees a soothsayer and he goes 'beware of the Ides of March'," he said.
John then told Harrison that he got the coin from a deal in the 80s, and the amazing history of it compelled him to get it. Harrison then narrated the incident of Caesar's stabbing, where he was betrayed by Brutus and his men, who took action to remove him from power. "I mean it would be the equivalent today of killing a president in the Capitol building," he noted. He then added that Brutus made this coin to celebrate the stabbing and the events that followed. "I think it's interesting too if you look at the other side, he put his portrait on it, and this was one of the things that Julius Caesar got criticized for," John added.
Harrison eventually asked John for the asking price of the item, to which he responded that he was looking to get $150,000. Harrison then called in his expert, Dave, to come take a look at the coin. "When you told me you had a coin with two daggers and a cap on it, I ran down here," the expert exclaimed as he walked into the shop. After inspecting the coin, the expert noted that the item had an advantage. "It has a very large planchet where you can see the whole design, and the abbreviation of Brutus above his head is totally clear," he noted. He then confirmed that it was the real deal, and a collector personally would pay up to $125,000 for it. However, he explained that if the coin came to an auction, it could fetch up to $140,000 to $150,000. "I would advise Rick to buy this coin if he can get it for the right price. It's a really good example with all the details visible," he said in his interview.
After the expert left, Harrison offered $100,000 to John for the coin. However, John told him that he could come down to $140,000, but that was it. The pawn shop boss went up to $110,000, but the owner refused to go below $140,000. "If you change your mind or have really bad luck while you're in town, come back and see," Harrison told the owner, failing to make a deal.
In the end, John expressed that the $100,000 offer was a little too low for him. "I absolutely love the coin, and it would be quite an item in my collection," he said.
