How Much Corey Actually Paid For An Evel Knievel Helmet On Pawn Stars
The name Robert Craig may not ring any immediate bells. For an entire generation, though, he jumped rattlesnakes, stacks of cars, and the fountains at Caesars Palace on a motorcycle, eventually earning the Guinness World Record for the most broken bones (433) in 1975. For these stunts and more, he earned the nickname "Evel Knievel" and a dedicated following, including fans still interested in his career today.
During a recent episode of "Pawn Stars," a seller named Liam walked into the Gold & Pawn Shop with an Evel Knievel helmet. Rick and Corey are among those nostalgic fans, but they tried to keep their poker faces. "OK, pretty cool," Rick said, before turning into a gushing fan. "Evel Knievel just did some crazy stuff. I mean one of his very first jumps, he was gonna jump over so many cars and at the end of the jump was a box of rattlesnakes. But he didn't make it all the way and he landed on the box of rattlesnakes!"
Laughing with Rick, Liam had to think the odds were in his favor and he just might get the $1,500 he wanted. "I think it's a very fair bargain for an iconic piece of memorabilia," he said, explaining he planned to use his profit to purchase an Evel Knievel cape or leather suit.
There was just one problem: Liam didn't have any paperwork to prove the helmet actually belonged to the legendary stuntman.
The final price was a surprising bargain
Despite their interest in the item, Rick and Corey weren't ready to make a deal just yet. "If this was actually one of his helmets, it would be worth a lot more than $1,500 bucks," Rick told Liam, likely raising his hopes even further. Rick called in the expert: Kelly Knievel, the iconic stuntman's son. He and Corey couldn't resist picking Kelly's brain for memories. Kelly obliged, reminiscing about his father's 1976 shark jump, inspired by "Jaws," which ended in a crash. "Did he intentionally crash? No," he said. "Did he ever have a feeling that he may not make it? Yes."
Examining the helmet, Kelly didn't seem impressed when Liam told him he'd purchased it online for $600. Kelly pointed out that the slogan "Color Me Lucky" on the side of the helmet was written in black and should have been in color. And an image of Evel Knievel on the helmet was more modern than the helmet itself.
"I would say it's pretty, but as far as its being an authentic Evel Knievel helmet, I say no," he said. "It would look nice in the shop though."
The seller's face fell, but when Corey offered $300 anyway, his reaction was surprising. Liam turned the offer down. "I paid $600 and I was hoping for $1,500. I thought that was a fair price," he said.
But he couldn't argue when Corey pointed out the item was a fake and they both knew it. Liam took the deal, and Corey got the helmet. Corey later mentions that he wanted it for himself, but he was just too cheap to get a real one. Problem solved.