The Rare Guitar That Fetched $3,000 On Pawn Stars
On a recent episode of History's hit reality series Pawn Stars -– the one that contained the segment where Rick passed on buying Lee Harvey Oswald's overcoat –- a very special guitar sold for a pretty penny.
In the episode, Corey Harrison welcomes a young man named Brian into the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop. Brian is looking to sell a collectible guitar — a 1987 Gibson SG Elite Custom. Corey and Brian then get into a little bit of banter about what "SG" means – it really stands for "Solid Guitar" due to the construction of its body, but Corey says he always thought it stood for "Small Guitar" because AC/DC's diminutive axeman Angus Young played one. After that, the two men get down to brass tacks.
SG Elites are rare, to begin with, having only been produced between 1987 and 1988, and this particular guitar is even more special because due to a factory error, it has three pickups –- the part of the guitar that converts the vibration of the strings into electrical signals that can be amplified –- instead of the usual two. Brian's instrument is one of 24 SG Elites with the error. He bought it from a reputable dealer and has a letter from the manufacturer telling the guitar's story and confirming its authenticity. He wants $4,000 for it.
Corey says he doesn't know enough about collectible guitars to be able to price it, so he'll have to call in a friend.
This rare guitar can be yours
Scott Krell, president of Roman Guitars and Gold and Silver's "music guy," comes in to take a look at the instrument. He says it's in nice shape cosmetically, but he'll need to plug it in and play it a little bit to see how it sounds. He gives it a few strums and says it's working just fine.
Scott explains that the third pickup doesn't actually change the sound of the guitar that much. It's a slightly different sound, but it doesn't offer "more" sound. In other words, a third pickup doesn't provide additional power. "It's a flavor of ice cream choice," Scott says. "Some people like, some people don't."
Corey asks Scott how much he thinks it's worth at retail, and Scott says with the nicks and dents on the exterior and the overall condition, "somewhere in the mid-3k range." Corey then asks Brian what he'd take for it, and Brian says $3,000, getting to do a "really good rock yell" afterward. He throws his head back and yowls like AC/DC's former lead singer, the late Bon Scott.
"I'll give you the three grand so I never have to hear that again," Corey jokes.