Pawn Stars: The Greatest Stories Ever Sold

Pawn Stars is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24 hour family business operated by Patriarch Richard Harrison, his son Rick Harrison, Rick's son Corey, and Corey's childhood friend, Austin "Chumlee" Russell. The series depicts the staff's interactions with customers, who brings in a variety of artifacts to sell or pawn and who are shown haggling over the price and discussing its historical background, with narration provided by the Harrisons and occasionally Chumlee. The series also follows the interpersonal conflicts among the cast. Numerous local experts in a variety of areas also regularly appear to appraise the items being sold or pawned.

Jewelry is the most commonly pawned item at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, most of the customers featured in episodes bring in a variety of vintage or antique items to the store. Each episode consists of segments devoted to approximately five or six of these items, in which one of the staff members, usually Rick Harrison, his son Corey, or Harrison's father Richard, explains the history behind the object. When the buyer is unable to evaluate an object, they consult with a knowledgeable expert who can evaluate it to determine its authenticity and potential value, and in the case of items needing repair, the cost of restoration or preparing the item for sale. Whoever is evaluating the object goes over the potential value with the customer, including the expert's opinion, if one is given, often interspersed with an interview in which he explains the basis of his decision to the viewer. A price tag graphic at the bottom corner of the screen provides the ever changing dollar amount as the two haggle over the item's price. On occasion, Rick will purchase items in need of restoration before determining its restoration costs, thus taking a risk on such costs.

Pawn Stars is character driven. The Harrisons and Chumlee bicker and mock each other more or less constantly, in scenes that seem scripted to varying extents. The arguments are presented as a tough guy  covering a warm, family friendly core. These men make their living by driving down what their customers ask for, but they have to put food on their tables, too, and pay all those employees we don’t see on camera. Their homespun manner, their fascination with historical artifacts and the moment of discovery. All of it makes the pawn business seem like an honest one. There aren’t any complex debt vehicles or international price fixing scandals at this lender, and the simple profit calculus is literally shown on screen. It's projected sale price minus purchase price equals projected profit. When the Harrisons and their staff won the National Pawnbrokers Association “Pawnbroker of the Year” award in 2010, the organization claimed they had improved the public image of pawn shops more in one year than the NPA’s publicity team had over decades.

While the guys still show up to work at the shop almost every day, they now spend most of their time filming or working behind the scenes. Even without the men of "Pawn Stars" working the floor on a daily basis, the shop has plenty of its own appeal. It's packed with thousands of unique items including rare jewelry, artwork from famous artists including Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso and even a Congressman's chair, an item that normally isn't accessible to the public. In addition to being filled with items from the past, the shop itself is of historical significance. The edifice was built in 1934 and is one of the oldest buildings on the Strip. Since the show started, Harrison has gone from purchasing about 100 items a month to more than 1,000.
"There are tons of different things that walk in here, and I really do buy this stuff. You can walk around the showroom floor and see," said Harrison.
Some items featured on the show are now hanging in the shop like the framed Roy Rogers shirt that Harrison purchased in the "Cannons and Klingons" episode of "Pawn Stars." There's no telling how long an item will be in the shop. Things are purchased and sold every day, but that's part of the fun of visiting. You never know what you're going to find. One of Harrisons' most interesting recent acquisitions is a set of Jimmy Hendrix photos.

I love the show the show Pawn Stars. Even if you’ve never watched it, you can likely tell by the name that it’s a reality based show based on a pawn shop, and the wheeling and dealing done between the shop’s employees and its customers. My favorite part in many episodes is to watch people’s negotiation styles and techniques and imply them in my life situations.

"Pawn Stars Episode Guide, Show Summary and Schedule: Track your favorite TV shows." TV Calendar. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

"Plot Summary." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.

"Reality Pawns: The New Money TV." Dissent Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.


Sally244, Al2007, Christy2907, De08, Allthis4me, and Montgomeryreyes2. "Pawn Stars at the Gold
and Silver Pawn Shop." VEGAS.com. N.p., 13 May 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.