'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison feels $100,000 is too much for desk linked to Lincoln's assassination
Sellers with exciting items showing up on "Pawn Stars" is nothing new, but only a few are as controversial as an item linked to former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. This happened when a seller named Sue brought an old lap desk to Rick Harrison's shop, claiming it belonged to Dr Samuel Mudd, who helped Lincoln's assailant, John Wilkes Booth. While Harrison tried his best to make a deal, in the end, he couldn't match the owner's asking price of $100,000.
"This one was made by Dr. Mudd after he was convicted of conspiracy with John Wilkes Booth after John Wilkes Booth shot the president," Sue told the pawn shop boss. Sue added that she initially thought of getting the lapdesk back to the family that it belonged to, but she had now changed her mind and was looking to sell it.
Harrison immediately noted that it was an interesting item before delving into the story of the assassination. "What happened was is John Wilkes Booth broke his ankle jumping from the stage, trying to get away from Ford's Theater, and ended up showing up at Mudd's house. Mudd treated him. Mudd claimed later that he had no idea who this guy was, didn't know that he killed the president, anything like that. And it later turned out, he did. He ended up being convicted," Harrison explained.
However, Harrison had some doubts over the ownership of the item as it had the initials "MWK" printed on it. Sue explained that it stood for Mary W. Keeffe, and Dr Mudd had made the lapdesk for her while working in the carpenter shop in the prison. Since Sue had all the paperwork, Harrison accepted the story and asked for the price of the item. Sue told him that she was looking to get $100,000, and hearing the number, the pawn shop boss decided to call in his expert, Mark Hall Patton.
After taking a closer look at the lap desk, Patton noted that some of its pieces were made in prison. He further confirmed that he had heard of Joseph Keeffe, as well as the husband of the desk's owner, who worked as a prison guard. "The Joseph Keeffe connection fits, the time period fits the style. The way that it's made seems absolutely correct. This is cool. This, I think, is actually something that was made by Samuel Mudd," Patton told Harrison.
Despite the authentication of the item, Harrison refused to believe that it was worth $100,000. "You know, if it was Mudd's medical kit that he used on Booth, I think that would bring pretty good money. It's got a great story with it. And that's why I think it's probably worth closer to $5,000," he said before offering $2,500 for the item.
When Sue rejected the offer, Harrison knew there wouldn't be a deal. "Well, thanks for letting me see it. I really appreciate it," he said in the end. "The offer that he gave me wasn't acceptable to me. I'm just going to continue to pursue some other ideas of getting it sold in another way," Sue shared before leaving the shop.
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