The guys of Pawn Stars have seen and bought it all. And though they love wheeling and
dealing, they don't love telling people that their treasured family heirlooms are worthless.
From pistols to diamonds, these are fake items that devastated their owners on Pawn Stars.
A seller strolls in, believing he has something really special in his possession: a 50 million-year-old
piece of Baltic amber with a fossilized tarantula trapped inside. He presents it to Chumlee
in the hopes of getting $50,000 for it. Turns out he's in luck, as there's a gemstone expert
already at the pawn shop.
"I actually have a gemstone expert here.”
“alright”
“Hold on. JEFF!"
The seller has authentication papers from an entomologist. But the expert doesn't think
that's the correct person to authenticate a gemstone, so he suggests sending it off
to the Gemological Institute of America, the organization that sets the quality standards
for diamonds and other stones. The catch?
"Does it cost a lot to do that?"
"It costs about $200 to send it away."
"Well, that sounds good. I'll do that."
But when the results come back, it's a huge disappointment. The gemstone is really nothing
more than a hunk of plastic. The disillusioned seller is clearly disappointed..
"This sucks"
John Lennon was a well-known doodler who attended art school before founding the legendary Beatles,
and he often gave away his drawings for free. So it's not far-fetched to believe a seller
may have walked into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop with a collage of doodles that resemble
Lennon's most famous artwork, a haphazardly hand-drawn self-portrait. And it's signed!
The seller found it hanging in a thrift shop and bought it for $10: a total steal. Now,
he's hoping it's worth $20,000 at the pawn shop.
While Rick calls the find neat, he immediately spots a problem with the alleged artifact.
From the back, he can tell it's been printed on Kodak printer paper, which didn't exist
at the time of Lennon's tragic death in 1980. Unfortunately for the owner, it's a complete
fake. Trying to stay optimistic about the bust, the seller says he's glad he didn't
pay a lot for it in the first place.
"My artwork by John Lennon is actually a John Lemon."
A cocky seller wants $1 million dollars for a one-in-a-million photo of President Abraham
Lincoln and his wife Mary from 1863. That would be right in the middle of Lincoln's
historic administration, which ran from 1861 to 1865.
But Rick isn't sure it's real, so he calls in an expert, who uses software to compare
the seller's photo with an authenticated photo. Mary's facial features do not match, among
other things, so she declares it a fake.
The seller doesn't take the news well, belligerently saying he considers himself more of an expert
on the subject than the actual expert. When she defends her record of spotting fakes and
sticks to her guns that the photo isn't authentic, the seller declares:
"It's your career. You have a right to discredit yourself."
After watching the exchange in disbelief, Rick takes the word of the renowned expert
over the sulky seller and refuses to make an offer.
Flintlock pistols were common in colonial America. So when a gun collector walks into
the Pawn Stars pawn shop with a pristine one allegedly from the Revolutionary War, Big
Hoss is interested in buying it. The seller purchased it for $800 at a gun show, and he
calls it the cream of his collection; he's only getting rid of it in the first place
because his wife is forcing him to sell it.
Before handing over any money, Big Hoss calls an arms and armor expert to come check it
out. There's no authentication paperwork, but if it's legit, the expert says it could
be worth up to $2,500.
But as soon as the expert looks at the pistol, he says it's a reproduction, as it's missing
certain markings and isn't hand-engraved. Big Hoss feels bad for the guy but that doesn't
mean he's willing to make an offer. Outside, the seller unloads, storming off while swearing.
"Yeah, so, OK, maybe the thing is a… is a fake… "
The legendary Babe Ruth is one of the best-known sports stars of all time, so memorabilia signed
by him should fetch a pretty penny. That's what one no-nonsense seller believes when
he walks through the pawn shop doors with a signed baseball bat and glove. Between the
two items, he's hoping to get $120,000 dollars.
When Rick says he wants to bring in an expert, the seller bristles and asks who the man is.
Rick calmly explains he knows and trusts the expert, while he doesn't know the seller from
a hole in the wall.
Right off the bat, the seller's authentication paper makes the expert nervous, because the
person who signed the papers was implicated in an FBI sting exposing fraudulent signatures
on memorabilia. Therefore, auction houses won't accept the signature as legitimate.
Rick understandably has serious doubts about the validity of the items, which immediately
shuts down the deal. After leaving the shop without a sale, the frustrated seller questions
the expert.
"I think they're missing the boat on these items. This young guy - not even sure he's
heard of Babe Ruth."
One authentic 1967 Pete Rose baseball card in mint condition could be worth about $1500
dollars, and only about 75 are known to exist. Having five of them would be a pretty big
windfall for the right seller. That's why Big Hoss is suspicious when a guy comes in
with just that: five mint condition 1967 Topps cards that are just too perfect. The seller
says he'll have to re-evaluate his entire collection if these turn out to be fake.
Big Hoss calls over Rick, and it takes him no time to tell him they're duds.
"So what do you want to know about these?"
"If they're real."
"No."
Rick explains the color is faded and blurry. They also look like they were printed on an
inkjet printer.
Once outside, the apparently disillusioned seller questions his whole existence, leading
to this all-time great Pawn Stars moment:
"If these cards are fake, what else is real? Is the wife real? The dog? The cat? What's
real?"
Guess he's going home to take a second look at his card collection ... among other things.
Emile Louis Picault's bronze 'Perseus and Pegasus' sculpture from 1888 was a limited
edition of 800, and it's the artist's most famous work. So when a seller comes in asking
only $6,000 for one, Rick's eyes light up.
Rick knows there are millions of fakes in the art world, so he inspects it first and
immediately finds a "Made in the USA" stamp on the bottom. It's obviously a 20th-century
recast made after Picault died in 1915. After receiving the news, the seller goes ballistic,
accusing Rick of incompetence.
"What you see and what you can prove is two different stories. I don't care what you say.
I don't care what you tell me. But I know you're full of s---."
Things get heated enough that security comes over, but Rick waves them off. Rick's father,
Pawn Stars' legendary "Old Man," steps in to cool things off, calmly thanking the man
for bringing in the item but saying they're not interested. With sculpture in hand and
security keeping an eye on him, the seller knows there isn't going to be any deal, so
he storms out.
Stradivarius violins are a rare commodity, as their maker, Antonio Stradivari, only produced
just under a thousand in his lifetime. He handmade them from the late 1600s until his
death in 1737. As a result, most of his instruments are pushing 300 years old. Therefore, they're
worth big money to anyone in the market for one, no matter its condition.
That's why Chumlee gets excited when a man walks in with one he says was passed down
from his grandfather. It's in rough shape, though: The instrument is cracked and peeling,
and even looks like someone tried to glue a piece back together. If real, it would definitely
be worth a lot of money, but Chumlee doesn't think it's worth what the seller is asking.
So, of course, he brings in a Stradivarius expert.
The expert explains that it's the craftsmanship and attention to detail that sets Stradivarius
instruments apart. And just by looking at the varnish, he can tell that this violin
is a reproduced homage. From the 1830s to the 1960s these knockoffs were mass-produced
by the millions, making this item basically worthless. But unlike similar stories that
ended in rage over dashed dreams of extra zeroes in the seller's bank account, this
one ends on a sweet note, with the owner saying he plans to hang it on his wall in honor of
his grandfather.
Marilyn Monroe is one of the most glamorous and iconic movie stars ever, and her dramatic
death only adds to her mystique. So it's not surprising that her autograph, and anything
related to her, would be highly coveted. Cue a seller who walks into the Pawn Stars shop
with a signed photo and a handwritten poem by the blonde beauty.
He says he's had four experts authenticate it, and the two items are appraised at a total
of $48,000. Still, Big Hoss wants his own expert to weigh in.
Unfortunately, they're both forgeries. The expert says it's widely known that Marilyn's
secretary used to sign autographs for her with a red pen. And wouldn't you know, this
signature is in red ink. As for the poem, the handwriting doesn't look anything like
the star's real handwriting. The poem also was not penned by Miss Monroe, which causes
disappointment all around.
"Well, I wish it were real man. We'd both make a lot of money."
A painting by Joan Miró once fetched $37 million at auction, so when someone walks
in with another piece by Miro, Chumlee gets excited. The artist happens to be one of Chum's
favorites, which makes him more knowledgeable than usual. While the seller would like to
get $12,000 for it, Chumlee thinks the signature looks questionable. It's lacking fluidity,
as if someone had forged it. Chum wants to call in an expert, and he says:
"He's one of the most faked artists around."
The expert's presence makes the seller nervous because he's not sure the etching is genuine.
Upon inspection, it looks like an original print. And for a brief moment the seller is
beaming.
But the signature seems like a forgery. The expert's final opinion? It's a real Miró
etching with a fake signature, and he tells Chumlee to avoid purchasing it. Defeated,
the seller says he'll probably just keep it and hang it on his wall.
Jewelry always sells well at the Pawn Stars shop, so Rick is intrigued when a young man
comes in with a 300-year-old, 15-karat gold and rose diamond cross. He's looking to get
$8,000 for it.
Rick immediately recognizes it as Baroque style, which was popular in the 17th and 18th
centuries, and says jewelry from that time period can sell for millions of dollars. He
carefully inspects the piece with a magnifying glass and sees no hallmarks of it being genuine,
including the gold being two different colors. In fact, it looks like someone soldered it
together and blowtorches didn't exist in the 1600s. It's clearly not 300 years old.
To add insult to injury, there's probably only $200 worth of actual gold to be had,
and the diamonds aren't even worth Rick's time. The seller disagrees with Rick's appraisal
and says he's going to get a second opinion.
The 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean is one of the most well
known events in history. So when a seller struts into the pawn shop with a mint condition
Boston Globe newspaper from the day after the Titanic sank, he thinks he's going to
make bank. While looking at the sensational headline "Titanic Sinks! 1500 die!", Rick
immediately notes the paper is in almost too perfect condition.
As he flips through the pages there's no yellowing, which is extremely rare for a 100-year-old
newspaper.
Rick quickly declares it a fake, saying it looks like it came from a copy machine. When
the surprised seller asks when someone might have made the copy, Big Hoss quips,
"Probably right after the movie came out."
While the guy is disappointed, he admits that once Rick opened the paper up and pointed
out the excellent condition, he knew it was fake too.
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