New Season For Pawn Stars: August 16, 2010 Review

Well, we are a cross roads of Pawn Stars. There is a new kid on the block, Hard Core Pawn, so will the Pawn Stars succeed or fall to the competitors?

In the first episode, the first guy, former employee, brought in a grenade from WW II. It's a rare looking grenade and not the usual pineapple looking type grenade. The grenade was made by Eastman Kodak, not exactly a Kodak moment they used to advertise. Tony, the expert came in said the grenade came from the OSS, which was the precursor of the CIA. The guy bought it for $5. The guy wanted $1600, and Rick took the offer.

The next guy, Lou, who lives in a trailer court, like the ones around Cabana and Vegas Valley Dr., on th east side of the Valley. He had a nickel Peep show machine, perhaps from the fifties. The pictures were not. Not from the fifties but maybe the 80's.. The guy wanted to sell it for $4000 but Rick didn't want it for his store because the pictures were graphic for the kids who visit the store. Like my son. No sale.

The next guy brought in a toy Harley Davidson motorcycle. The toy was over 50 years old. The toy was operable and it drove, almost off the counter. The guy wanted $1200 but it was used and had no box and Rick offered $300. They dickered to $450 and it was a deal.

The next guy came in with an old candy machine. Select-O-Candy machine was the brand. It had penny candy in it, real penny candy, like gum or suckers. The guy wanted $100. Rick didn't think it would sell and so there was no sale. This part turned into a commercial for Subway.

The next man brought in a Paul Revere coin- Massachusetts Pine Tree coin. It was in rough shape and brown in color. The guy wanted $100,000 for it. The coin turned out to be a fake and so no sale. The guy is going to get a second opinion. Be interesting to see how that turns out.

The next lady brought in some JFK memorabilia. Some of things included matches from the White House and a pennant, which was not in good shape. She wanted to sell it and offered and the Old Man offered $30 and then $55 so it was a deal.

The last segment was a commercial for Subway. Very disappointing ending, to say the east. Hopefully, it was a not a"jump the shark" moment.

In the second episode, the first guy brought in some "education" money from the late 1890's. It looked like real money but not real money.(maybe it was, the episode really didn't make it clear) It was art on money. The guy paid $7500 at an auction. Time for an expert, Leonard, someone we have not seen before. Leonard pointed out the different art works on the bills. He thought the collection was worth about $10,000, which the guy wanted. Rick offered $8000. The final offer was $8500 and it was a sale. I think they are on sale in the shop, from when I visited the shop the other day. When you deal with old money, there is no dickering allowed- what the sale price is the price is what you pay. That is not true with the other items in the store.

The next guy brought in some photo's from the Spanish-American war. They were from training camp. The guy wanted $225 and Rick offered $100 and that was the deal.

The next guy brought in an old gaming set that had several gambling games in it. It had chips, a roulette wheel, cards, dice etc. It was from J.D. Borthwick. In the bottom of the box was guns and knives. Rick thought it was the coolest thing ever to come in his shop. Time for an expert, Sean. Sean had some doubts about the contents of the box. After going through the items, he said it was legitimate. He thought it was worth $6-7000, as is. The guy decided to not to sell, even though the men were offering $6000. That is unheard of on this show.

The next guy came in with an old Geiger counter. It was an antique counter, from the 1950's. It was unknown if it would work because of the lack of radioactive material in the store. Rick offered $30 so, but the guy declined the offer.

The last guy brought in an old scooter, Wee Wheelers Scooter. It was a push scooter and my kid has one and the Old Man had one when he was a kid. Scooters have been around for a long time. The guy wanted to sell it for $400 but the Old Man offered $100 and then $150. That is what it sold for.

so, it will interesting to see how the show does against the new kid on the block. I hope they don't do any lame commercials for Subway and other lame acting on the show. They are too good for that.

So, until next week...