'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison finds the first-ever Superman doll 'really cool' — but fails to buy it

As Marvel and DC movies gain popularity, superhero suits and rare memorabilia are in demand more than ever before. It's only natural for them to show up on "Pawn Stars." One of the most fascinating items from the DC Universe on the show was the first-ever Superman Doll from 1939. The item was brought to Rick Harrison's table by a seller named John, who had preserved the item for years. While the pawn shop boss made his best bid for the item, in the end, the seller refused to match his $2,500 offer.

Talking to Harrison and his sidekick, Chumlee, John shared that it was the first piece of merchandising ever done for Superman. "As a matter of fact, it's the first superhero action figure of anybody," he claimed. In his interview, John shared that he was a "serious" toy collector, and the item that he had was quite special.

Harrison immediately noted that it was "really cool." After hearing it was the first-ever Superman doll, Chumlee noted that it had the old Superman logo on the chest, which has now changed over the years. John shared that he met a fellow collector years ago, and he was selling off his massive Superman collection. "So I wound up buying it from him," he shared.

Harrison then noted that the item could be valuable given the popularity of Superman. "He was a smash hit from day one. Back in the '40s, '50s, '60s, almost always, you'd go see a double feature at the movies. And in between the movies, you would have your animated shorts. So it would be like Woody Woodpecker or Superman. And those were really important because they drew in kids," the pawn shop boss explained.

John then went on to add that the box he had brought was the original packaging that came with the doll. "I'll tell you something else about the box. There are only 10, maybe 12 examples of this box being original that even exist," he claimed. Harrison then asked for the price of the item, and John told him that he was looking to get $6,000. This time, Harrison had enough in front of him to believe that the doll was the real deal. Thus, he got to the negotiations without calling in an expert.

Harrison made a lowball offer of $2,000 as Chumlee joked, "You better get some kryptonite." Hearing the offer, John refused to make a deal as it was too low for him. "If I can't get $5,000, I'll just have to go home with him. This same doll with a rag box at a big Americana auction 10 years ago brought a little over $10,000," he reasoned. However, Harrison said it was 10 years ago, and the world had changed. Thus, he made a final offer of $2,500, which John declined.

"Truthfully, I turned down $3,500 about a month ago. So if I'm going to turn down $3,500, I'm probably not going to show up here today and settle for $2,500," the seller said in the end. 

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