Pawn Stars

[discovery_bound]

Pawn Stars on History Channel......anybody watch this show? Quite interesting stuff that comes 'walking' into that place. Last night, however, it blew my mind. A guy walked in with 3 colonial looking buttons. They had an expert come in and check them out and all three buttons were connected to George Washington, one which may very well have been worn during his inaugeration! The expert stated the value of each button in a big auction setting which tallied up to about 12K. The guy sold them on the spot for 3K!! Man, if I had those buttons and if I HAD to sell them, I'd be sure to get top dollar for them at a collector auction. But, to each his own I guess. If you haven't seen the show, I'd recommend it.

HH
DB

[DigginThePast]

Cool show. I think the "gentlemen" that brought those buttons in indicated that he had just inherited his Grandfather's coin collection and as the buttons were not coins he had no interest in them.

At least they will work their way into the hands of someone who can appreciate them now, lucky the guy didn't just decide to toss them.

[sniffer]

it is a good show. I liked the one where the guy brought in the Hotchkiss cannon
and they took it out to the range and fired it. what a sight that must have been back in the day

[sniffer]

typically you'll get 1/3 of half, of what it was new

[jeff of pa]

never heard of it.

when is it on ?

[sniffer]

Monday night 9c, History channel

[Cappy Z.]

Great 'man' show. The way these guys talk to each other is a scream. The sarcasm is great. And yes, people come in there with IQs of 50. lol.

[pjroo33]

My new favorite show on TV

[allen]

The history guy said the buttons was worth $8,000 total
and the pawn shop got them for $3,000 cash, not bad.

[jeff of pa]

I Set up to record all.

When the First Episode started
with the Beginning Clips
& THe old Man was Bichin' about Money
Considering they are Millionaires with their own Show,
I Decided I Was going to hate the Show
but wanted to see the Buttons part so I Kept
watching.

I Will keep wathing the Shows.
Was actually better then that first Impression
I Got.

[PBK]

Considering the usual pawn shop margins, the offer really wasn't all that unrealistic.

Also, it's important to keep a few facts in mind about Washington inaugural buttons:

1. Although people continue to cite Albert's rarity numbers for these buttons, they haven't been updated since 1976. Some varieties do indeed remain extremely rare— for example, the "Pater Patriae" (#WI 19). However, in recent years there have been scores of additional examples reported for other varieties, such as "Eagle with Star" (#WI 12). Yes, they're still scarce... but some are far less so today than they were 33 years ago.

2. The 2003 Stack's auction of J. Harold Cobb's collection of Washington inaugural buttons is also frequently cited as a guide to valuation, yet the prices realized have almost never been duplicated in any subsequent sales. Collectors simply are not paying those amounts for WI's. (It's also worth mentioning that most of Cobb's were high-grade, non-excavated specimens, including a number widely regarded as "condition census," i.e., the finest examples known.)

3. Anyone can throw around big numbers. It's exciting when an expert (?) tells you that your WI button is worth, say, $3,000 or $5,000; but the real question is, who'll pay that for it?

[allen]

What is that old saying,
" its only worth what someone is willing to pay for it" !

[sniffer]

one man's junk is another man's treasure

[allen]

totally agree !!!

one man's junk is another man's treasure

[gmanlight]

Great show . The guy did not have a clue as to what he had .
But neither would i if i did not start detecting and hang with you guys .