History Channel's hit reality television show Pawn Stars has been on the air for ten years,
and it's certainly been an eventful decade. The show has had its fair share of heartfelt
moments and tense situations. Here are the most unforgettable moments in Pawn Stars history.
In one of the most iconic moments from the first season, Rick, Big Hoss, and Chumlee
all work together to pull a fast one on the Old Man. They arrange to have his beloved
1966 Chrysler Imperial towed from the Gold & Silver's back lot to be given a full restoration.
There's a twist: they do so in secret, so when the Old Man comes into the store asking
where his car is, Rick tells his father that they finally sold the thing.
"Hey Corey."
"What?"
"Rick, where's my damn imperial?"
"Sold it."
"You what?"
"I thought it was just gonna sit there and rot, so we sold it for a thousand bucks."
After the Old Man threatens to unleash "the wrath of God," Chumlee goes even further,
informing the Old Man that this fictional buyer was planning on turning the rare classic
into a lowrider with hydraulics and a cheetah-skin interior. The Old Man storms off after cursing
at his son and grandson.
A few weeks later, the car is finished, and Rick brings the Old Man to the back lot to
reveal the gift for his 50th wedding anniversary. The Old Man loves his newly-restored car and
even calls it a work of art. Watching the Old Man go from furious to ecstatic makes
this one of the best moments of the show's entire run.
In the sixth season episode "Say It Ain't So," a customer comes into the store with
a book signed by baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson. Not only was Jackson a legendary
baseball player, he was illiterate, so his signature is incredibly rare. Naturally, Rick
asks for any documentation that may support the customer's story. To his surprise, the
customer produces a letter of authentication, and Rick decides to buy the book on the spot
for $13,000 before the customer can change his mind and sell it somewhere else.
Afterwards, Rick brings in an authenticator to see if the signature is legitimate, since
he hadn't heard of the authenticator who signed the customer's letter. Unfortunately, the
expert reports that the signature is likely fake. Rick decides to send the book off to
yet another authenticator, but is given a laundry list of reasons to be confident that
the signature is a fake. All in all, Rick learns about 13,000 reasons to double check
that a rare object is actually rare.
During the season one episode "Secret Santa," Chumlee enters the pawn shop in a jolly mood
with a Santa outfit to match. Complementing his outfit is a bushy white beard and a sack
full of presents. Corey quickly tells Chumlee that the role of Santa has already been taken
for the day.
"Merry Christmas, Chum."
"What?"
Chumlee comes back to work later dressed as an elf, eliciting laughs from the elder Harrisons.
At the end of the day, the cast of Pawn Stars all exchange gifts as part of a secret Santa
arrangement. Everyone's gifts are small, except for Rick's present to Chumlee. When he first
lays eyes on the watch Rick got him, Chumlee seems completely shocked. The gesture from
Rick demonstrates how close the group is and how they really do care for each other.
In the first season episode "Time Machines," a man brings in a flintlock pistol he had
bought at a gun show. Seeing the potential for an interesting piece of history at his
store, Corey calls in an expert in vintage firearms to appraise the value of the gun.
The expert relays that if the gun is authentic, it could fetch a price upwards of $2,500.
Unfortunately, however, the gun is just a modern recast of an old design that's only
worth about $75. Outside the store, the customer says,
"My wife was pissed when I bought this gun. Now she's really gonna kill me. F---."
Being tricked into buying something fake for a grossly inflated price is a horrible situation
to find oneself in. Finding out on national television is even worse.
In celebration of Halloween during the season four episode "Rick or Treat", the employees
at the Gold & Silver decide to compete in a costume contest with a prize of $100 for
the best costume. The results aren't exactly inspiring.
Corey does the bare minimum, putting on a novelty headband that makes it look like someone
stabbed through his skull with a knife. No one can guess that Rick has dressed up as
Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers films. Chumlee is dressed up as the then-teen heartthrob
Justin Bieber, while the Old Man is dressed up as Rooster Cogburn from True Grit.
The bickering all ends when Antwaun the security guard walks up to the counter dressed as a
giant baby, binky and all. This immediately nets him the $100, with the snickering approval
of the Harrisons and Chumlee.
The season five episode "Corey's Big Play" features a customer selling a set of artifacts
from an Arizona prison. Carrying a couple of balls and chains from Yuma Prison in an
antique Wells Fargo strong box, the customer hopes to leave the store with $2,000. Upon
closer inspection, the balls have the prison name embossed on them, and the chains appear
to have been electrically welded, making both sets of items inauthentic recreations.
However, the strongbox passes Rick's inspection, so he begins negotiations at $400. Eventually
settling at $450, Rick secures the Wells Fargo box. To determine the box's value, Rick brings
in a museum administrator to appraise the box. But when it is revealed that the box
is a fake, the Old Man chides Rick, saying he suspected the box was fake the entire time.
Why'd he let Rick make such a big mistake?
"I didn't wanna bust your bubble."
"What? So you were gonna let me spend the money instead?"
"Now I can holler at you."
After spending almost a decade on television, Richard "Old Man" Harrison passed away in
June 2018 at the age of 77. As a tribute to his memory, the final episode of season 15
was made into an hour-long special showcasing the best of the Old Man. In the special, Rick
reminisces about his dad between clips, showing just how much the Old Man cared about his
family, his business, and his passions.
The episode is nostalgic and intimate, allowing the audience to feel included in the lives
of these people they have spent the last nine years watching. The highlighted clips of the
Old Man show him at his best, sometimes when he was happiest, other times when he would
get angry with the other employees at the Gold & Silver, but every scene showed off
his no-nonsense approach to dealing with others. No matter who he was dealing with, the Old
Man would never mince words and would always play fair, making him one of the most beloved
cast members on the show.
When a seller named Phil visits the shop looking to sell his '32 Lincoln Roadster in the season
four episode "Buy the Book," it isn't exactly hard to get Rick and the Old Man to jump out
from behind the pawnshop counter. Bargaining and settling on an agreeable price is another
story, however: Phil wants $100,000, a price Rick is skeptical about considering the vehicle
isn't in prime condition. According to Rick, a '32 Lincoln Roadster can be sold for about
$170,000 in mint condition, but Phil's car has some wear and tear that diminishes the
value.
At first, it seems like Phil will refuse to budge on anything lower than $100,000, but
then he tells Rick he's willing to sell the car for $95,000 in gold. While legally Rick
can't exchange the old car for gold, Rick can give Phil $95,000, and then he can then
turn around and buy $95,000 worth of gold from the shop. The '32 Lincoln Roadster isn't
just one of Rick's most expensive purchases, it's one of the most unique ways anyone on
the show has named their price.
"I think I'll bury the gold somewhere where nobody can get it. Huh?"
In the season four episode appropriately titled "Face the Music," Chumlee strikes a bargain
for $1,500 with a customer over what appears to be an authentic Gibson mandolin. However,
the bargain was struck before an expert could be brought in to assess the instrument. Big
mistake. Once the expert is brought in to evaluate the mandolin, it's not only revealed
to be a fake but an obvious one at that. In the words of the expert himself,
"Yeah, this is fake as hell, man."
"I just paid $1,500 dollars for that."
"Ouch."
So what exactly gave the replica away? For starters, the decal was cut out with scissors,
and the "G" in "Gibson" doesn't match the official branding. To make matters worse,
the instrument's finish appears to be plastic, whereas a genuine Gibson would use lacquer.
This long list of issues, along with a few other giveaways, makes it a gut punch for
poor Chumlee when he has to tell Rick and the Old Man that he blew $1,500 on a bad knock
off.
So how exactly is Chumlee supposed to get back that money? In a fitting punishment,
he's forced to play the fake mandolin outside the shop for tips to earn back the loss of
his investment. Hopefully, Chumlee can play the mandolin as well as that seller played
him.
In the season 2 episode "Hell Week," Corey and Chumlee struggle to move a heavy statue
across the store. As the two huff and puff, the Old Man and Rick take notice and give
them grief. When their physical abilities are called into question, Corey asserts that
he could beat Chumlee in any sort of competition.
Rick challenges Corey and Chumlee to compete in an obstacle course with the stipulation
that the loser will have to buy lunch for a week. The obstacle course consists of a
tire-stepping station, a jumping jack station, and a jump rope station. In the end, Corey
ends up winning, but after the duo's clumsy performance, neither manages to impress Rick
or the Old Man.
"Watching these two turkeys run this course is gonna be like watching a grizzly bear ice
skate. It ain't gonna be pretty."
Still, watching Corey and Chumlee get competitive with each other is a rare sight that makes
this episode one of the most enjoyable.
In the second season episode "Flight of the Chum," a customer visits the Gold & Silver
with a statue of Perseus and Pegasus made by Émile Picault. Rick is familiar with Picault's
work, and he knows that his statues are highly collectible and worth thousands of dollars,
so he gives the customer's item a thorough look. However, Rick immediately becomes suspicious
when he finds markings on the statue that do not match the period it was supposedly
produced in. He then finds markings engraved on the statue showing that it was made in
the United States. Since the artist is French, this confirms that the statue is a reproduction.
At the suggestion that the statue may not be entirely authentic, the customer gets angry
with Rick.
"I don't care what you say. I don't care what you tell me, but I know you're full of s---."
As the tension mounts, the pawn shop's security guard, Antwaun, begins walking toward the
customer in case an intervention is needed. However, he is waved off by Rick. In the end,
the Old Man diffuses the situation by firmly explaining that they are not interested in
buying the statue, which brings the memorable interaction to a close.
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