'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison pays more than double the asking price for a historic letter

Rick Harrison is seen squeezing out profits with his shrewd negotiation skills on "Pawn Stars" by buying vintage items and collectibles at a low price. But on a rare occasion, Harrison had to pay over double the asking price for a letter written by the renowned poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The owner of the item, Douglas, initially asked for $300, but when the show's expert appraised the letter at $1,500, he changed his mind. In the end, Harrison sealed the deal by paying $700 for the letter. 

Douglas shared how he got the item decades ago and why he wanted to sell it. "I got this in the mid-'70s. I went to an auction. There was this table just full of what looked to me to be junk. In that group of stuff was this letter and a photograph already framed. I bid $20 on it. My kids aren't interested in it. So I may as well see what I can get for it here at the pawn shop," he said in his interview. 

Harrison acknowledged that the item was significant as it was from one of the greatest American poets. "We live in such a different society now. In the 19th century, poetry was so important and really was. I mean, the guy who wrote poems was as big as a huge author or a really big actor. And he was really a superstar back then. This is the guy who, when he passed away, they put a statue, or a bust, or something like that in Westminster Abbey in England," Harrison noted.

Harrison then asked the guest about the asking price, and Douglas told him that he was looking for $300. Citing concerns that the item may not be written by the poet himself, Harrison called in his expert, Steve, to authenticate it. Steve acknowledged that the item could be of great significance if it were the real deal. "In all honesty, this guy's really sought after. This is really neat, you know, if it checks out. I love it," he told Harrison. He then examined the letter to look for ink marks that would verify the period it was written in.

"It kind of looks like it starts off pretty strong.  But the more I'm moving along here, you see how it gets very faint towards the end? So he's using a quill to write it. As the ink's running out. And he's running out of quill. No doubt about the ink on here," the expert noted.

He then moved on to another good sign, which was the signature of the poet. Steve matched the writing with other authentic letters and confirmed that the item was the real deal. Coming to the appraisal, he estimated that the letter could be worth about $1,500, about five times more than what Douglas was looking for.

Once the expert left, Harrison got down to the negotiations, asking Douglas if he still wanted $300 for it.  "That's in the past. I have a little more information now. I don't think $300 is going to do it for me. I would sure like to see $900 for it," the guest said in response. Harrison then offered him $700, saying that he got the item authenticated for the guest, making the offer more than fair. Douglas accepted the offer and walked away with more than double the money he initially expected.

"$700 isn't $900, but, you know, it's okay. It's a whole lot more than 300. I may go back home and dig through the closets again and see what I can find," the guest said in the end.