The Surprising Price Rick Paid For Gun-Smuggling Books On Pawn Stars

"Pawn Stars" has been entertaining and awing audiences for 18 seasons. The popular History Channel series follows the wheelings and dealings at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, located on the infamous Las Vegas strip and owned and operated by Rick Harrison and his family. "Pawn Stars" is beloved by audiences who are not only eager to see the jaw-dropping cost of some incredible antiques but to enjoy some old-fashioned reality show drama.

Many items brought in are what you'd expect of a typical pawn shop, such as vintage toys, jewelry, musical instruments, and silver items. However, sometimes the crew at Gold & Silver will have something extra special come into the shop that piques their interest. But the fact that something is old and interesting doesn't mean it's valuable. In a Season 6 episode of "Pawn Stars," one shop guest learned that lesson the hard way and walked away with a little less cash than he had hoped for.

In this episode, a seller named Anthony comes into the shop with something very unique – a collection of WWII-era gun-smuggling books. Not really books at all, though, a craftsman had fashioned two pieces of wood to look like books and used their hollow centers to smuggle guns from Germany into the United States. The "books" also came with an official letter from the U.S. Army notifying the owner the guns had been confiscated. 

While this piece of WWII history is certainly an interesting find, according to Rick Harrison, the relics are simply not that valuable. Anthony had hoped to get $600 for the items, which he had found while helping a friend clear out his home. However, Anthony (perhaps foolishly) told Rick to name his price, Rick offered only $50 for the fake books. After some haggling, though, the eager owner was able to get slightly more – $65 to be exact.

Many eager sellers come into Gold & Silver in the hopes of walking away with an impressive payday. Yet as this interaction shows, even if a seller thinks something is worth a lot, the experts may not agree.