A Seller Made More Than $100K Selling An Unexpected Commodity On Pawn Stars

Over the years, the Harrison family — and adjunct family member Chumlee — have bought some unusual items for their Las Vegas pawnshop. Fans of the hit History Channel show "Pawn Stars" have watched the pawnshop purchase such quirky goods as dinosaur eggs, a one-man submarine, and a lifeguard buoy autographed by none other than David Hasselhoff. However, the official name of the famous pawnshop is Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, after all, and back in 2012, the stars had a chance to obtain a mother lode of the latter.

In the episode "Silver Linings" (Season 6, Episode 11), Richard Harrison Sr. said that he's "been collecting silver, son, for over 30 years; silver and gold is a hedge against hyperinflation." The seller of the silver, identified simply as Jeff, was also astute on how to invest in silver, telling the show, "Growing up, my dad always told me to invest." Over the course of a dozen years, Jeff collected a whopping 3,372 troy ounces of the precious metal in the form of both silver coins and silver bars. That's more than 231 pounds' worth, all of which he wanted to sell to the "Pawn Stars."

Before moving forward with an offer, the shop first wanted to verify the authenticity of the silver. Many of the coins involved in the transaction were regular U.S. currency, like quarters and the now- valuable early Kennedy half dollars. Up to 1964, American coins were made from silver. Therefore, the edges of the coins were inspected for signs of exposed copper and nickel from wear. Of course, these tells wouldn't be visible on genuine 1964 or earlier coins, which are about 90% pure silver.

Next, the shop drilled through at least one of the large silver bars. That's because, theoretically, it would be possible for someone to cheat by placing a worthless lead or steel core inside the bar, then coating the perimeter with silver rather than pure silver throughout the entire bar. After drilling a hole clear through the center, the metal shavings were examined to verify all-silver content. Once the coins and bars were deemed fully authentic, it was time for the Pawn Stars to make an offer.

This particular episode of "Pawn Stars" originally aired in mid-2012 but was presumably filmed sometime slightly prior to that date. The first half of 2012 was particularly strong for silver prices, which traded around $30 per troy ounce for much of the time frame when filming of the transaction likely occurred. Co-owner of the pawnshop, Rick Harrison, initially offered Jeff $110,901 for the boatload of silver. After some negotiating, the pair settled on the round number of $111,000 for the entire kit and caboodle; $111,000 divided by 3,372 troy ounces implies a price paid of $32.92 per ounce.

Harrison expressed that he would immediately resell the silver to capture a profit of about $1,500. That's really not that impressive for a six-figure outlay; however, the effort required to flip the silver was pretty minimal. Interestingly, if Gold & Silver Pawn Shop held on to the silver instead, it would have experienced a massive loss. History shows that the seller Jeff exited his silver position near the top of the market. For the next decade, silver prices dropped and stayed at a relatively low level, falling below $14 per ounce at times. 

It was only just recently, in 2024, that silver prices once again breached the $30-per-ounce mark. Of course, in the meantime since 2012, the U.S. dollar lost more than 30% of its purchasing power. That means breaking even on silver prices from 2012 to present actually represents a loss when you factor in inflation. Perhaps precious metals aren't always a reliable hedge against inflation after all? (Read about the edgy rule millionaires follow for the biggest payoff.)