Pawn Stars has attracted its fanbase because of its mix of history, bargaining, and the twists of pawning. Each episode features Rick Harrison, Corey, and Chumlee as they scour a scene full of possible treasures (and hidden dangers!)
Viewers are often surprised to see that even experts can be fooled by smart sellers. Famous examples are Rick's expensive mistakes with fake Rolexes and the letdown of buying a fake Elvis contract. These cases show how important it is to evaluate what one is buying to avoid being fooled.
Here are 15 times when the Pawn Stars were cheated by sellers, showing how even the best pawnbrokers can be tricked!
15. Fake Elvis contract (Season 5, Episode 9)
In this episode, a seller comes in with a contract she says Elvis Presley signed. She asserted it was worth many million-dollar bills. So, Rick Harrison wanted to make an offer for it. After speaking with an expert, though, the signature ended up being just a carbon copy.
The seller deceived Rick with a photo of the King of Rock and Roll. The finale saw Rick, who had to terminate the deal saying that the item was not worth anything. No doubt even an experienced pawnbroker can get caught on a good fake!
14. Counterfeit Rolexes (Season 2, Episode 13)
In one memorable episode, Corey Harrison bought several Rolex watches from a seller who told him they were real. He spent approximately $4,000 on these watches and found out that they were all counterfeit.
This happened when an expert looked at the watches and showed him several problems with their quality and labels. Corey learned a hard lesson about the importance of verifying whether an item is real before buying expensive things. Sadly, he was left with nothing as by the time he realized that the watches were fakes, the seller was nowhere to be found.
13. Misrepresented Civil War items (Season 6, Episode 8)
A customer came to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop with things he swore were genuine Civil War artifacts. Rick was first enthused over them for their historical significance and paid big money because he was so excited. After speaking with a historian, it turned out that these were post-production copies made to look old.
The seller, very astute, used Rick's love for history to sell him useless items for a lot of money. Having the power to communicate with the seller later, Rick still could not get his money back because the seller would not come back to the shop.
12. Fake artwork (Season 3, Episode 1)
In this episode, one seller showed a painting that he claimed was an original by some famous artist. Rick is interested and decides to buy it for $10,000 without verifying if it is real or not. After getting an art expert on board, they found out that the painting was a fake created by some inferior artist.
Rick became frustrated in this event since he realized some smart lies and false history claims had deceived him. He attempted to make contact with the seller for a refund but couldn't find them.
11. Overpriced firearms (Season 4, Episode 6)
Among the new customers who came into his shop was an old gun seller with a few of his old guns that, according to him, were special collector's items. Rick soon decided to buy them for about $15,000 because the seller seemed super convincing and had good papers.
Many of these guns turned out to be less special or valuable than what was said about them; while some were forged. This experience taught Rick an important lesson about checking things carefully and verifying before putting a lot of money into expensive items.
10. Sports memorabilia scams (Season 7, Episode 10)
A seller came in with what he said was game-worn memorabilia from some famous athlete. Rick was first excited about adding such valuable items to his collection and offered a large sum of money based on the seller's claims.
It was when he talked to one of the experts who knows a lot about sports memorabilia, that he got to know that many of those items were not real and even lacked proper papers to prove where they came from.
He sold to Rick, with a lot of enthusiasm, sports collectibles. But he ends up with nothing to say when Rick asks him about fake replicas.
9. Rare coin purchase gone wrong (Season 5, Episode 12)
Rick Harrison met a seller who came claiming to have rare coins from many historical times. Being excited about how much they might be worth, Rick bought them for $20,000 before looking at the coins.
Most of them turned out to be common copies instead of valuable collectibles as the seller had claimed when he displayed them to Rick. This incident highlighted the importance of expertise in coin evaluation and left Rick with significant financial losses.
8. Antique furniture faux pas (Season 6, Episode 5)
An elegant old piece of furniture caught the attention of Corey. This was one from the collection of a famous designer. He paid $8,000 for it as it was quite impressive, and a good story about its history was told by the salesman.
But an antique expert discovered that it was actually just a modern copy and was far below in value than what he had to pay. This incident reminded one and all that things are not always what they appear in the world of antiques.
7. Misleading celebrity memorabilia (Season 8, Episode 3)
This was a real piece of memorabilia from the music tour of a music legend for just $5,000 paid by Rick Harrison. After Rick took it home and later tried to sell it in the online store of his show, experts finally concluded that there was no apparent proof or connection between the artifact and the event or artist. It was just mass-produced merchandise and not true memorabilia.
This experience taught Rick that there are risks when buying celebrity collectibles and that sellers can easily lie about their items.
6. High-value item with hidden flaws (Season 9, Episode 7)
A customer approached Rick with an antique vase purportedly worth tens of thousands because of the age and the craftsmanship. Rick was looking forward to a possible resale value as it had been purchased for a mere $25,000.
Initially, it seemed like a good find since he had not conducted an authentication process. However, experts passed it under their lens and discovered major flaws that would heavily reduce its value in the market. It turned out to be more decorative than collectible due to poor restoration work done over time.
5. Overpaying for vintage watches (Season 4, Episode 2)
This episode focused on vintage watches brought into their shop by an enthusiastic collector who claimed they were all rare pieces worth thousands each.
Purchasing several pieces totaling upwards of $30k without proper authentication or verification processes initially led them down another path. There, only one watch turned out authentic while others became worthless fakes once examined closely—leaving them scrambling to recoup losses incurred from hasty decisions made under pressure.
4. Fake historical documents (Season 3, Episode 9)
A customer entered Gold & Silver Pawn Shop claiming ownership of historical documents signed by prominent figures in American history—excitedly presenting them as valuable artifacts worthy of high appraisal prices offered at around $15k—but after a thorough inspection conducted later, it was revealed that the said documents lacked authenticity altogether.
They were simply reproductions created decades later and designed for sale rather than authentic artifacts, so they were unable to recover any funds spent on purchasing said documents.
3. Misrepresented collectibles (Season 2, Episode 10)
In this episode, sellers brought collectibles to their shop and claimed they were rare. Rick bought several items thinking they were unique. However, after looking more closely, he found that many had been made in large quantities or not documented well.
This made it hard for him to sell them again, leading to big losses. This shows how important it is to check claims before spending money on purchases, no matter how convincing the stories seem.
2. Antique jewelry purchase mistake (Season 1, Episode 15)
A customer presented what they claimed was an antique diamond ring valued at over $20k. After some negotiation, Rick ended up purchasing it believing its worth only to later discover that the stones used weren’t diamonds.
They were cubic zirconia, instead. Rick was unable to recoup funds spent purchasing the item which left him frustrated. The incident also made him realize how easily sellers can manipulate perceptions of the value of jewelry pieces sold through pawn shops like theirs.
1. The Wells Fargo strongbox incident (Season 4, Episode 11)
One of their more significant blunders was featured in an episode where a customer approached them to sell a vintage Wells Fargo strongbox. It was believed to potentially contain valuable contents inside.
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After much discussion, they ended up purchasing the said strongbox based on their expectation that its worth lies in its contents only to eventually find its contents didn't add up to anything close to the amount they expected.
They were unable to recover funds spent in acquiring the box they thought to be a treasure trove holding unknown gems within!
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