'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison fails to get George Washington's suit despite offering $1.5 million
Rick Harrison's eyes are always on profits, and that's why any demand by a guest on "Pawn Stars" sounds too high to him at first. This applies to everything, including a suit worn by the first American President, George Washington. In a special episode, Rick Harrison went down to Washington, D.C., to check out a collection of the great Americana curated by a man named Brian. While the owner refused to sell a few items, he put a $3 million price tag on the suit, making Harrison say, "That's a lot of money!"
In the episode, Brian talked about the significance of the item and how he had kept it well-preserved and on display for over 21 years. He had purchased it in an auction in New York, and before that, the all-silk suit, which was originally pink in color, had been passed down for generations in Washington’s family. "It was one of my first major purchases from my collection of Americana, and it's a major highlight of my collection, but if Rick wants me to put a price on it, I'm gonna put a price on it for him today," Brian said in his interview. Upon taking a look at the item, Harrison was astonished. "I'm just like, it is amazing! If I could go back and have a cup of coffee with just about anybody in history would probably be this guy," the pawn shop boss said.
Brian then added that the suit was probably from the 1750s or 60s, and it had faded over the years and gathered some wear and tear. Harrison had his expert, and go-to authenticator, Mark Hall-Patton, with him, who also confirmed that, given the provenance and the age of the silk suit, everything looked to be in order. "Washington was always very aware of how he presented himself. Pink would have been a bright color and one that really would have set you off as you know fashion conscious individual, and it's all soaked," Hall-Patton noted.
Harrison then asked the big question of how much he would need to pay to add the item to his collection. To this, Brian said that he wouldn't sell the item for anything less than $3 million. "That's a lot of money!" Harrison said, "It's a lot of suits!" Brian responded. Harrison then admitted that it would be the first time he was considering such a large purchase. "I mean it's George Washington's suit. It never occurred to me that one would be available. I am gonna go think and contemplate about this for a little bit," he said.
Harrison then met up with the owner back at the hotel, stressing that it was the first time he was considering making a multimillion-dollar purchase. He then offered Brina $1.5 million for the item, and the owner politely declined. "Since we're friends, the best price would be $2.5 million," Brian told Harrison. When the owner stood firm on the offer, Harrison chose to take a pass.
"I didn't get the suit, but you know what, it didn't fit me anyway," Harrison said in the end to console himself for the deal that couldn't be made.
