Willadee wants her muthafuckin' $.

Good evening, pawn addicts. Up first is Willadee (yes, real name) with a bundle of books signed by Harry S. Truman. Willadee is a former economist, and she wants to start the bidding around $3,000. Much to my surprise, Rick seems to think that’s a decent starting point, but wants to — you guessed it — bring in an expert. Well, two experts, actually. Drew the signature guru as well as Rebecca the bookworm. More after the jump.

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When famous people sign currency, it inflates.

First up this week is a dollar bill signed by legendary film actor Clark Gable. Amy’s the owner, and she’s shooting for $5,000 (good luck with that, Amy). Gable wasn’t comfortable just being a talking head for the WW2 efforts, and enlisted in the Army Air Core flying planes. When Hitler found out about Gable’s enlisting, he offered a reward to any soldier who killed the film star (but frankly, Hitler, Clark doesn’t give a damn). The dollar bill belonged to Amy’s dad, who served with Gable. As with most signatures, Rick wants to bring in expert Drew. More after the jump.

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Old Geiger counter or new laser gun?

Hey there amateur pawnagraphers. First item in this week’s second episode is a letter written and signed by Knute Rockne (damn they don’t make names like they used to), former coach of Notre Dame football. And by former I mean WAY former. Knute was coach from 1918 to 1930, and coached back when football players wore leather (or no) helmets. Rockne invented the forward pass, and was the guy who said “Win one for the Gipper.” The letter was addressed 18 days before Knute kicked the bucket. Owner Scott wants between $3,500 and $4,000 (yeah right). As Rick often does, an expert is called in to verify the signature. Signature expert Drew comes in and verifies the ink type, the letterhead, and the signature. They eventually don’t settle on a deal. This episode starts with a bang!

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Security guard Antoine keeps a 2x4 handy (also, several $5 footlongs).

Howdy, pawn addicts. This week’s first episode of Pawn Stars starts off with a link to the Be a Pawn Star online game. Give it a try. It’s 1/2 Farmville, and 1/2 selling your grandma’s engagement ring for crack. The first item featured this week is a set of pictures of the Jesse James gang (the wild west one, not the kidnappers from Alpha Dog. Scott brings them in, wrapped in paper towels, and the first thing Rick says is: DO NOT STORE ANYTHING DELICATE IN PAPER TOWELS. Paper towels are made to scrub, and generally will rough anything up over enough time. He wants $60,000, but will settle $50,000… my gut says “yeah right.” If he gets 1/2 that much I’ll eat a paper towel. Rick’s hesitant that they’re real. He says there are no known photographs of the gang, and Rick calls an expert. Historian Mark drops by and completely fucks up Scott’s day: The pics aren’t of the James gang, and no deal is made.

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The LeMat hand cannon.

Howdy, pawn aficionados! Up first this week is Rob with a super bizarre Civil War era gun: a LeMat pistol. Rob is a semi-pro gun collector, and apparently this gun is a doozy. It’s a nine shot revolver with a second barrel that, get this, fires shotgun rounds. They were pretty rare, even during the Civic War. Only the rich racist generals had a LeMat, it would seem. Rick wants an expert since LeMats are frequently faked, and Rob is cool with that. Expert Mark comes down to take a look, and the first thing he blurts out it “That’s cool!” Turns out Mr. LeMat only made about 2,900 of these things, and a lot of them blew up in use (yikes). Rob wanted $20,000 at first, but comes down to $12,000, which is still to high for Rick. No deal.

Then comes in Steve who has an old 1965 B movie poster for War of the Zombies. It’s cheesy, but pretty cool looking. Sorta looks like 1965’s campy version of The Walking Dead. It’s starring Drew Barrymore’s dad, and the art was made by a big player in the movie poster business. Steve wants $125, manages to grab $100. Prediction on how he spends the money: Buying Season 1 of The Walking Dead. Out with the old! Read More

Pawnocchio... get it?

Hey there pawn-o fans! This week’s lead in item is three original Pinocchio marionettes brought in by Don. Don says he paid $5,000 to get these bad boys (bad little lying boys, to be specific). Don says he expects them to go for anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000, and that’s a big enough spread that Rick wants to bring in an expert. Toy expert Johnny comes in and says they were made by Bob Baker, the go-to guy for Hollywood puppet making. Johnny prices the lot at $18,000, and apparently Don’s never seen the show, because that’s where he starts asking. They eventually work out at $9,500. Prediction on how he spends the money: Acquiring less creepy Hollywood memorabilia.

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Mark, dressed in the standard historian uniform.

First up is New York-accented Maureen who brings in a bunch of old film footage of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She got the footage from the attic of a deceased relative (creepy). She hasn’t actually watched the footage, just sees that the film canisters are marked “F.D.R. 1882-1945” (his lifespan). They call in Mark, the appropriately dressed historian, to take a look. Turns out the film is a produced documentary of FDR’s life. Non-original. Maureen says she plans on donating the film since it’s such good quality.

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Beautiful gun, grotesque hand model.

Well hello there, pawn addicts. The first item to visit the shop in the episode titled “Bear-ly There” is a Volcanic Arms pistol brought in by a fellow named Jim. He’s hoping to go home with around $10K because he’s got two kids in college. My pa never sold his guns to help me get through college. I’ll have to show him this episode.

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14-year-old virgin Nick looks a little TOO much like his mom...

Welcome back, amateur pawnagraphers! First up this week is Kane who brings in some books signed by Edward VIII, once King of England. This segment is almost certainly only in the show because of the release of W./E., the new flick directed by Madonna. Kane wants to get $5,000, but will go as low as $2,000. Book expert and resident sexy librarian Rebecca comes in to help out. Rebecca sheds some light on the value, and they work out a deal for $2,000. Prediction of how he spends the money: Buying more chick-lit.

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Motorcycle rufian and engine expert Danny helps with some minibikes.

First up this week is loveably chubby hipster Steve who owns official piece of mail from one of Charles Lindebergh’s first  Atlantic crossings. Wowzers. What’s this doing in Reno? Steve says he got it on the internet. Wants between $75 and $200. Store owner Rick says he doesn’t know much about mail or stamps. They heckle awkwardly for a bit and meet at $100. Prediction of what Steve does with the money:  Spends it all on rare Panda Bear records.

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