'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison regrets calling expert, pays $4,500 over asking price for rare book

After his book expert, Rebecca, raved about the rare book, the pawn shop boss knew he had to make a deal.

PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO

Screenshot showing Rick Harrison, the book, and the seller on the show (Cover image source: YouTube | Pawn Stars)

"Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison is usually seen smoothly squeezing out deals at significantly lower prices than what the seller demands. But things don't always work out in his favor. Harrison counts on a regular guest, Adam, for amazing book deals. One such deal was made for the rare piece of American history, which was a book called "Regulations for the order and discipline of the troops of the United States." Harrison always calls an expert to verify items, but he regretted calling in his book expert, Rebecca Romney, as she delivered a big appraisal of $18,000, which was nearly three times the asking price. In the end, the pawn shop boss unwillingly agreed to make a deal for a whopping $11,000.

Screenshot showing the details of the book (Image source: YouTube/Pawn Stars)

Adam walked in with the book and said, "I brought you a really amazing piece of American history. If it wasn't for this book, we'd probably all be speaking with English accents today." He then shared that he had a 1779 edition of the Regulations for the order and discipline of the troops of the United States, which was printed in Philadelphia. "This was really the first drill book for the United States Army that taught them how to be soldiers," he added.

As Harrison picked up the old, ragged book, he too acknowledged its significance. He noted that the book was written by Von Steuben, a famous Prussian military officer who was hired to train the American troops to help them fight a professional British army. Adam further told him that the book marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War, as it allowed General George Washington to train his troops with things like bayonets and other weapons. "It became such an important book that it was called the blue book of the American army," Adam added. Harrison then examined the condition of the book, noting that it still had its original handmade paper binding, despite being about 250 years old.

Screenshot showing Harrison listening to Adam (Image source: YouTube/Pawn Stars)

He then asked Adam for the price, who told him he was looking to get $6,500. Harrison thought the number was insane, so he decided to call in Romney. Upon walking in, Romney immediately noted that it was a "very cool" book. She noted that the books in this edition essentially served as the "manuals that standardized everything dealing with military troops and discipline." She further noted that the edition in front of them was one of the earliest, and it was nothing short of a miracle that the book had survived for so long. "Rick, here's the thing: a book in the original boards to the uninitiated often kind of looks trashy, but this is the original binding put on by the binder Robert Aitken in 1779. That is exceptional by itself. Any collector of Americana and the American Revolution is going to want this," she told Harrison before putting a retail estimate of $18,000 on the book. "I should never have called you," Harrison said in response.

Screenshot showing Romney talking to Harrison (Image source: YouTube/Pawn Stars)

Once the expert left, Harrison tried his best to haggle with Adam. He agreed to pay the full price of $6,500, but the seller had different ideas. "Well, now that I heard the expert's evaluation, what about $12,000?" he asked. After some more back and forth, they settled on a deal for $11,000, which was almost double the initial asking price.