100 Fun Facts About Pawn Stars

On which US network does Pawn Stars air?

It became the network's highest-rated series, which annoyed some viewers who missed the military documentaries.

Which production company makes the show?

Its founders, Brent Montgomery and Colby Gaines, got the idea during a 2008 weekend in Las Vegas.

In which year did the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop open?

The Harrisons had waited for the city's population to hit 250,000 so a new pawn licence could be issued.

In which year did the series debut?

The first episode aired on July 19, and the show climbed to No. 2 among reality series by 2011.

Which reality show outranked it as the No. 2 reality series on TV in 2011?

That year Pawn Stars was pulling in 7.6 million viewers.

What was the show's working title before a staffer suggested Pawn Stars?

The final name is an intentional pun on "porn stars", which the network thought more memorable.

To which network was the series originally pitched?

That network wanted a Taxicab Confessions-style show set at the shop's night window.

Which network president picked up the show?

She wanted mainstream programmes to balance the channel's heavy slate of military documentaries.

Which comedy series featured the shop and Rick in a 2003 Las Vegas episode?

Rick spent the next four years pitching a show about the shop without success.

In how many countries is the show broadcast?

It has been dubbed into 38 languages along the way.

What was the first spin-off, starring restorer Rick Dale?

It premiered in October 2010, two years before the second spin-off.

Which auto expert stars in the second spin-off, Counting Cars?

Known as "The Count", he runs Count's Kustoms; his show debuted on August 13, 2012.

In which Louisiana city is Cajun Pawn Stars set?

The Silver Dollar Pawn & Jewelry Center is run by Jimmie DeRamus and his family.

Which comedian hosted the 2014 game show Pawnography?

Rick, Corey and Chumlee sat as panelists while contestants played for items from the shop.

What is the most commonly pawned item at the shop?

The vintage and antique items shown on TV are the exception, which other pawnbrokers have pointed out.

How many items did the shop hold in inventory as of July 2011?

Around 5,000 of those are typically being held on pawn at any one time.

Roughly how many customers a day did the shop draw by October 2010?

Before the show it averaged 70 to 100, and it hired nearly 30 new staff to cope.

To what size did the $400,000 showroom expansion take the shop?

It was the tenth expansion since the shop opened and grew the floor by two thirds.

Which band performed the 2013 theme song "Winning Isn't Everything"?

It lasted barely a year; an uncredited artist's theme replaced it in June 2014.

Which show did Pawn Stars replace when it moved to Thursdays at 9 p.m. in 2013?

For its first four years the show had aired on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET.

What nickname has Rick earned for his eye for rare items?

He started in the pawn business at 13 and co-founded the shop with his father at 23.

What does Rick say he was selling when he dropped out of high school?

He claims the sideline was bringing in $2,000 a week when he quit in tenth grade.

Which era is Rick's favourite subject to read about?

Childhood epileptic seizures kept him in bed for long stretches, which turned him into an avid reader.

How old was Rick when he co-founded the pawn shop with his father?

He had already been working in the family's coin shop since it opened in 1981.

What was the Old Man's full name?

He was also nicknamed "The Appraiser" and died in June 2018.

In which branch of the military did the Old Man serve for 20 years?

He enlisted in 1958 after a judge offered him a choice between the military and prison for stealing a car.

At what age did the Old Man earn his nickname, according to the episode "Fired Up"?

He was first into the shop every morning and claimed not to have taken a sick day since 1994.

Which car did Rick and Corey restore for the Old Man's 50th wedding anniversary?

He was the shop's car enthusiast and once suggested converting an electric Electra-King into a golf cart.

In which Virginia city was the Old Man born?

His family moved to Lexington, North Carolina, when he was one; he drove a school bus there at 14.

What did the Harrisons open in Las Vegas in 1981, before the pawn business?

The 300-square-foot Gold & Silver Coin Shop was all they could manage with the $5,000 they had left.

What is Corey Harrison's nickname on the show?

He is being groomed to run the shop and makes more purchases than anyone else there.

How old was Corey when he started working at the shop?

He went on to manage the shop's day-to-day operations and around 30 employees.

What partnership stake did Corey receive after threatening to leave the shop?

He had demanded double that, but accepted the smaller share plus a raise.

What is Chumlee's real first name?

Austin Lee Russell was born in Henderson, Nevada, in 1982.

Chumlee's nickname comes from a walrus on which cartoon?

A friend's father coined it when he was about 12, citing his large face and chin.

How old was Chumlee when he started working at the shop?

He had been there five years by the time the first season was filmed in July 2009.

Which items did Chumlee cite as his area of expertise in a season-two episode?

He later spotted fake Air Jordan V sneakers and fixed a gas-powered toy car on camera.

For how much did Chumlee sell half of his merchandise company to Rick in 2010?

The deal let the shop handle orders for his T-shirts and novelty items more efficiently.

What kind of business did Chumlee open across the street from the pawn shop in 2017?

It is called Chumlee's Candy on the Boulevard.

In Chumlee's 2020 NES-style video game, what is he searching for?

Chumlee's Adventure was built by Cayhan Games in the style of the classic NES title Kung Fu.

What is the 2022 spin-off in which Rick, Corey and Chumlee travel the country buying from fans?

Rick and Chumlee followed it in 2025 with the Pawn Stars After Dark podcast.

On which Nickelodeon sitcom did Rick, Corey and Chumlee appear as themselves?

The episode was titled "iLost My Head in Vegas".

Which Las Vegas mayor gave the cast the key to the city in March 2010?

Two years later the four served as grand marshals of a NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

What is the title of Rick's 2011 autobiography?

Hyperion published it, with the Old Man, Corey and Chumlee each getting a chapter of their own.

Which company unveiled a Pawn Stars slot machine at the 2012 Global Gaming Expo?

The same year, History had already launched Pawn Stars: The Game on Facebook.

How many viewers watched the January 24, 2011 episode, then a record for the channel?

Nielsen confirmed it as the most-watched telecast in the channel's history at the time.

A 2016 New York Times study found the show most popular in the rural parts of which state?

The study mapped Facebook likes for the 50 most-liked TV shows.

What did the Hanson Brothers from Slap Shot try to sell Rick in a 2011 NHL Awards sketch?

The awards were held in Las Vegas that June.

Which US senator's Senate floor chair did the shop lend to the Clark County Heritage Museum?

The Old Man made the loan on July 17, 2012, the day the county declared Pawn Stars/Gold & Silver Pawn Day.

Which truTV series is named as an imitator of the format?

History launched its own clone, Cajun Pawn Stars, in January 2012, reportedly without telling the original cast.

Which music legend signed an album on Pawn Stars but made it out to Chumlee instead of Rick?

Bob Dylan was performing in town when Rick sent Chumlee out with a 1970s vinyl copy of Self Portrait, and the autograph he brought back disappointed his boss.

Which star of The Office visited the Pawn Stars shop to buy a World War II diver's knife?

Steve Carell turned up in the 2013 episode "Hello, Goodbye", the same episode in which Rick had the shop's classic rock vinyl records moved into the showroom.

Which president's cigar box, still holding unsmoked cigars, did Rick Harrison buy for $60,000?

John F. Kennedy kept the box at the White House, and Rick later sold it for $75,000, using the money for a staff party bus trip to the Hoover Dam.

What job did Chumlee perform at Rick Harrison's 2013 wedding in Laguna Beach, California?

Ring bearer was Chumlee's part in the July 2013 ceremony, while the show's car expert, the Count, became an ordained minister so that he could officiate.

People magazine described Pawn Stars as which appraisal show, "but with neon and far more tattoos"?

Antiques Roadshow is the comparison critics keep reaching for: another reviewer called Pawn Stars a version of it hijacked by the Teutul family of American Chopper.

What appears on screen before a Pawn Stars commercial break, with the answer revealed after the ads?

A trivia question about the shop, the cast or a featured item appears in multiple-choice form, so viewers can guess during the ads before the show gives the answer.

On which social network was Pawn Stars: The Game launched for fans to play in 2011?

Facebook hosted the game, and the shop also ran fan design contests there to create its merchandise, sparing the Harrisons the cost of professional designers.

What does Pawn Stars expert Rebecca Romney, co-founder of the firm Type Punch Matrix, appraise?

Rare books, manuscripts and documents from the 15th century onward are her field, and she managed a Las Vegas gallery for a rare-book dealer before starting her own firm.

Which World War II device ranks beside a Shelby Mustang among the priciest items on Pawn Stars?

An Enigma machine made the "Priciest Pawns" retrospective, sharing the list with a 1942 AT-6 Texan plane and a Hotchkiss revolving cannon.

Which Hollywood star and racer once owned the 1940 Indian motorcycle seen on Pawn Stars in 2011?

Steve McQueen's Indian shared its episode with a 1745 book printed by Benjamin Franklin, and the bike later made a retrospective of items the cast wanted for themselves.

A ticket to Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp let Rick Harrison perform with which member of The Who?

Roger Daltrey shared the stage with Rick in the 2013 episode "Rick 'n' Roll", after the Old Man, Corey and Chumlee tricked him into thinking they had forgotten his birthday.

Which game show booked the Pawn Stars trio in 2010, sparking a Chumlee dream about its host?

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire invited Rick, Corey and Chumlee to play, and host Meredith Vieira made a cameo in Chumlee's dream in the episode "Chumdog Millionaire".

Stars of which other reality series helped give the Old Man of Pawn Stars a 1957 Chevy sedan?

American Pickers stars joined the casts of two Pawn Stars spin-offs to hand over the 1957 Chevy, a fitting gift for a man who was passionate about automobiles.

Pawn Stars antique sword expert David Baker is also a judge on which weapons competition series?

Forged in Fire pits four bladesmiths against each other for a $10,000 prize, and Baker, a Hollywood prop maker, sits on its three-judge panel.

Original illustrations from which Maurice Sendak picture book were appraised on Pawn Stars in 2018?

Where the Wild Things Are drawings came in during "Can't Pawn Me Love", an episode that also featured a Princess Leia action figure signed by Carrie Fisher.

What does Chumlee of Pawn Stars collect so keenly that he owns more than 200 pairs?

Shoes are his passion, and the knowledge pays off at work: he surprised his colleagues with how much he knew about a pair of 1990 Air Jordan V sneakers brought into the shop.

Which childhood condition kept Rick Harrison in bed and sparked his lifelong love of reading?

Epilepsy brought on seizures from the age of eight, and the bedridden Rick fell for The Great Brain, a book series about a ten-year-old Utah con artist.

Which illness led to the death of the Old Man, patriarch of Pawn Stars, in June 2018?

Parkinson's disease was the cause; he left his wife Joanne, three sons, ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, with Rick named to handle his affairs.

Which teenage offense led a judge to offer the Old Man of Pawn Stars prison or the military?

Stealing a car put him before the judge; he chose to enlist in October 1958, and what began as a way out of a cell turned into a 20-year career.

Which vehicle did the Old Man of Pawn Stars drive for a few dollars a week when he was only 14?

A school bus was his first paying job: he parked it at home each night in Lexington, North Carolina, and rose early to collect the children for five or six dollars a week.

The collapse of which family business sent the Harrisons of Pawn Stars to Las Vegas with $5,000?

A real estate office run by Rick's mother Joanne failed when interest rates climbed as high as 18 percent, costing the family about $1 million.

Which night job did Rick Harrison hold while working days at his father's first Las Vegas shop?

Repossessing cars filled his nights while the family ran a 300-square-foot secondhand store on Las Vegas Boulevard South, years before they held a pawn license.

The Harrisons kept calling a Las Vegas statistician until which figure allowed a new pawn license?

The city's population had to reach 250,000, because a 1955 Las Vegas law rationed pawn licenses by head count, and the Harrisons applied as soon as it did.

Brock Williams's 2001 Super Bowl ring, a prized Gold & Silver Pawn Shop item, came from which team?

New England Patriots cornerback Brock Williams's ring helped the shop build a reputation, by 2006, for sports items with unusual histories.

Which TV journalist paid Rick Harrison $12,000 for a framed aphorism signed by Mark Twain?

Katie Couric bought the 1900 Twain piece on a visit to the shop, handing Rick a healthy profit on the $8,500 he had paid for it.

Which museum administrator and frequent Pawn Stars expert is nicknamed the Beard of Knowledge?

Mark Hall-Patton never puts a price on anything, in line with museum ethics codes; he only confirms whether an item is authentic and why it matters.

Besides the UK and Australia, which country got its own local version of Pawn Stars in 2014?

South Africa got Pawn Stars SA in October 2014, the second international version after the British one and a year ahead of the Australian series.

In which city is Happy Hockers, the pawn chain run by the brothers who star in Pawn Stars Australia?

Sydney was home to all five Happy Hockers stores when the series aired in 2015, though it was filmed almost entirely at the chain's Bondi Beach branch.

Which guitarist authenticated his own jacket on Pawn Stars, then offered $40,000 to buy it back?

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top wanted the jacket for a blues museum in Texas and proposed splitting the $40,000 cost with Rick.

Which award did Rick Harrison buy for $2,350, only to learn he could not legally sell it?

A Grammy awarded to Ron Dunbar and General Johnson for 1970's Best Rhythm and Blues Song had to go back to Dunbar's family once Rick learned the truth.

A 1546 book by Georgius Agricola, bought on Pawn Stars, was once owned by which scientist?

Isaac Newton may even have written in it: after buying the book, Rick noticed annotations that could be in the scientist's own handwriting.

Which Hemingway novel's first edition did Rick Harrison sell to George Stephanopoulos for $675?

For Whom the Bell Tolls came in with a framed Hemingway autograph that proved to be a forgery, so Rick paid just $500 for the book alone.

Which singer's boots caught Rick Harrison's eye in the episode that set up Pawn Stars UK?

Elton John's boots sat near a piece of the Titanic's hull in his friend Mark Manning's shop, and they later featured in a special on the show's great negotiations.

A 1941 Gibson J-200 among the priciest Pawn Stars items once belonged to which folk-rock star?

Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills and Nash owned the guitar, which reached the shop in the same episode as an 1884 detective camera.

In which ABC sitcom did Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars play an antique store owner in 2012?

The Middle cast him in the episode "The Safe", which aired just four days after he had played himself on a Nickelodeon comedy.

Which magazine's annual list of influential people nominated Rick Harrison and his father in 2012?

Time put the two pawnbrokers up for its Time 100, in the same year that the Old Man was handed the key to his hometown of Lexington, North Carolina.

At which kind of sporting event did the Pawn Stars cast serve as grand marshals in May 2012?

A NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, sponsored by the show's own network, gave all four stars the honorary job.

In which Nevada city, a neighbor of Las Vegas, was Chumlee of Pawn Stars born in 1982?

Henderson is where Chumlee was born on September 8, 1982, and he grew up as a childhood friend of Corey Harrison long before joining the shop.

Which unusual vehicle, bought on Pawn Stars, could Chumlee finally ride after losing 75 pounds?

A hovercraft he had bought earlier in the series carried a 250-pound weight limit, so a year of exercise and a better diet finally put him aboard.

What is the nickname of Danielle Rainey, the Pawn Stars employee punished for habitual lateness?

Peaches was put on the graveyard shift with Chumlee as her punishment in the first-season episode "Rope a Dope".

Recurring Pawn Stars expert Murray SawChuck earns his living as which kind of entertainer?

Magician Murray SawChuck is also a magic historian, which makes him the Harrisons' authority when conjuring memorabilia comes into the shop.

Which broadcaster featured the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in a 2001 documentary, before Pawn Stars?

PBS profiled the shop in 2001, and by the time producers found it Rick had spent four years trying without success to pitch a series of his own.

The first network offered Pawn Stars wanted a night-window show modeled on which documentary series?

Taxicab Confessions was the template that network had in mind, with the cameras trained on the Gold & Silver's night window rather than on the family.

Which 1986 car did Chumlee of Pawn Stars customize with hydraulic lifts on the front and back?

Buick Regal was the model: Chumlee took an odd liking to one brought into the shop in the season 4 episode "Missile Attack", alongside a Cold War missile guidance system.

Rick Harrison also appears on which 2014 series about artifacts used at pivotal moments in the past?

United Stuff of America, from the Pawn Stars producers, examined objects such as the cane Andrew Jackson used to fend off an assassin and the axe Abraham Lincoln swung as a rail splitter.

Which Las Vegas road was home to the Harrisons' store for two years before they lost the lease?

Fremont Street housed the family's business from 1986, and after losing that lease the Harrisons moved into a new building on Las Vegas Boulevard.

What happens to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop's showroom while Pawn Stars is being filmed?

It closes to the public, with only a handful of vetted customers let in. The stars work the counter only on those days, since fans' cameras would expose pawn customers whose identities the law keeps confidential.

Which night-shift recruit did Chumlee volunteer to train after she joined Pawn Stars in season 5?

Olivia Black impressed Corey and Chumlee when they screened applicants, though Rick and the Old Man worried that the double shifts Chumlee took on to train her were too much for him.

To which California city did Rick Harrison's family move when he was two years old?

San Diego was his father's new posting in 1967, and the family stayed until a failed business sent them on to Las Vegas in 1981.

What kind of eatery did Rick Harrison open in the Pawn Stars shop's plaza in 2015?

A barbecue tavern opened beside the shop that year, and Rick has occasionally worked behind its bar himself.