RICK: Hey, how can I help you?
CUSTOMER: I have here an Egyptian scarab ring.
It was given to me by my father a couple of years
before he passed away.
And I'd like to know if this is the real thing or not.
RICK: All right.
So was your dad, like, Indiana Jones or something like that?
Not in the least.
[laughing]
The scarab ring is from the 18th dynasty, 1500 BC.
My father received the ring from his stepmother,
who was a world traveler.
I'm selling the ring because I would like
to see it go to someone who could
really appreciate the artifact.
RICK: This is really cool.
Do you mind if I pick this up? CUSTOMER: Oh, no.
No, go right ahead. - OK.
It's a scarab.
Way back in Egypt, everybody had one.
It was more or less the equivalent of people wearing
a cross or something like that.
I mean, sometimes you'd drill a hole in it
and put, like, a little piece of leather around it,
to really, really extravagant jewelry
that the pharaohs would wear. - Right.
Right.
RICK: Scarabs are generally carved from stone and glazed,
either blue or green.
It looks like an old scarab, but the question is,
is it really 3,000 years old?
Ooh, what is this?
CUSTOMER: Oh, that is the card from the guy
that sold it over in Egypt.
And he wrote on the back that it's guaranteed that it's
from the 18th dynasty, 1500 BC.
RICK: OK.
So I'm assuming you want to sell it.
Yes, I do.
And how much would that be for?
CUSTOMER: I would like $15,000 for it.
RICK: OK.
Do you mind if I have someone look at it?
CUSTOMER: No, that would be great.
OK.
CUSTOMER: I'd really like that.
RICK: I mean, if this thing is truly is 3,500 years old,
there's something here.
But I am not a 18th dynasty scarab jewelry expert.
But believe it or not, I know someone who is.
[laughs] - Really?
OK.
RICK: Yes, I do.
Give me five minutes.
CUSTOMER: OK.
RICK: I'm going to give him a call
and see what he thinks about it. - OK.
That's good. CUSTOMER: All right.
I'll be right back. - All right.
Thanks.
I am really looking forward to an expert coming,
because the ring is something different that I think the shop
would have no problem selling.
I haven't seen too many of 'em around.
RICK: She has a scarab ring her grandmother picked up in Egypt.
And this is the only paperwork she has right here.
And remember, they don't have a better business bureau there.
[laughs] Let's just put it that way.
Do you mind if I touch the ring?
Oh, go right ahead.
DR. PHINEAS KASTLE: This beetle was a dung beetle.
As these dung beetles would roll this big ball of dung
that they would deposit their eggs in, that one will die.
A new beetle would come from that ball,
and then turn around and start pushing the ball.
And so for the Egyptians, when they looked at that,
they said, well, look, that thing's magical.
It's got eternal life, and consequently it became
a very magical bug to them.
RICK: That is neat.
The Egyptians put the scarab on rings.
They put it on necklaces.
They painted it on the front of the mummy and even
on the entryways to the Egyptian temples.
So that's how important of a symbol the scarab was.
RICK: So is it real?
DR. PHINEAS KASTLE: I brought my little magnifying
glass along here so that maybe you guys can see us well.
Right there is a sun, a rake, and a scarab, underneath it
an ibis.
And that says to me, 18th dynasty.
And King Tut came from this dynasty.
Usually one of these went in almost every mummy.
And there were a lot of people that died in all
those thousands of years.
So there are quite a few of these in Egypt,
is what I'm trying to say.
Now, the second thing you have to look at with this, that when
I study the gold work on this--
can you see the rope work on there?
That sort of gold work is very indicative
of, like, turn of the century 1900 to maybe, like, 1905,
1910.
It could have been made in Egypt,
and a lot of those antiques went on with the King Tut exhibit
to be souvenirs.
So this is probably a real scarab, though?
DR. PHINEAS KASTLE: I think that it's a real scarab,
and from the look of it, it looks 3,000 years old.
RICK: OK.
So what do you think it's worth?
DR. PHINEAS KASTLE: Well, you can get a scarab like that,
I'm going to say right now for maybe $250.
So $250 plus, like, $200 in gold?
DR. PHINEAS KASTLE: So you're looking
at right around $450 to $500.
RICK: Thanks, man. You're the best.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for solving the mystery.
I enjoyed seeing it.
I think this is an excellent buy for the shop,
because the ring is beautifully created
and it's still in good condition.
RICK: OK.
So obviously it's not going to be $15,000.
No, I guess not.
I would give you right around $350 for it.
Um, $1,500?
RICK: No.
It makes no economic sense for me to do this.
I can literally make these for $450.
$500.
RICK: No.
I'm being really, really nice at $350.
I really am.
$375?
[laughs]
I'll tell you what.
I will give you $360 bucks.
All right. I'll take it.
RICK: We got a deal then.
We got a deal.
Follow me right up front.
CUSTOMER: I think I'm going to take the $360.
My husband and I can go out and have a really nice
steak dinner, and lobster too.