The Rare Thrift Shop Find That Fetched Hundreds On Pawn Stars

When you own a pawn shop, the name of the game is to make as much of a profit as possible off the items bought and sold across your counter. The "Pawn Stars" guys usually come out on top in this equation, but that doesn't mean they can just throw dollars around without first doing their homework. Just take a recent example of a rare book that one seller managed to turn into a tidy profit. The deal was always going to work out for the seller in this instance — he paid less than a dollar in his initial acquisition; it was less clear how the whole transaction would play out for Corey Harrison, however.

Neither the owner nor Corey knew much about this book, but they sensed a couple of hundred dollars on the table. Corey follows the rules, and calls in an expert to get an idea of what this beautiful signed copy might actually be worth. 

Check out the rare thrift shop find that fetched hundreds on "Pawn Stars."

Next time you find yourself at a thrift shop and discover a book with an autograph in it, you might want to purchase that book. That's exactly what happened when Jose visited a thrift shop a few months before visiting the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn. He bought the book for only 50 cents, and it turned out to be a signed copy of George Wharton Edwards' travelogue, "Constantinople," in excellent condition. Edwards was an early-20th century impressionist who also wrote several books on historical subjects.

Corey calls in Rebecca Romney, the store's resident book expert, so he can figure out just how much this attractive text might net him. She reveals a few key facts about Edwards and his book, which was originally published in 1930. The ancient city of Constantinople was the Byzantine Capital for over 1,000 years until its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The Ottoman Turks then controlled the city — which is now known as Istanbul — until the end of World War I, which resulted in the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of modern-day Turkey. Edwards was in this region in 1928 during this period of incredible transition for the ancient city. Following this brief history lesson, Rebecca admits the book is in excellent condition, and pegs its worth at around $500, which is ideal for the owner, who was only asking $350.

Despite the high appraisal, Corey still manages to talk the owner down to $300, knowing the owner only paid 50 cents for it in the first place. Now, Corey owns an impressive piece of history, and the owner walks away with much more than he originally had.