Additional Coverage:
- ‘Pawn Stars’ host Chumlee buys Roman boxing glove without expert advice — it doesn’t end well (marketrealist.com)
Chumlee of “Pawn Stars” fame, known for his occasional blunders, once again found himself on the wrong end of a deal. An early episode saw him tricked into purchasing a supposedly ancient Roman boxing glove, called a cestus, for a hefty $1,200.
With the shop’s expert unavailable, Chumlee took a gamble, hoping for a historical treasure. Sadly, it turned into a historical goof.
The seller claimed the brutal-looking metal glove, adorned with spikes, was passed down from his father and originated from Pompeii. He even presented Chumlee with a document he touted as a certificate of authenticity. Chumlee, swayed by the story and the supposed documentation, haggled the price down from $1,500 to $1,200, believing he’d snagged a bargain.
Later, Chumlee consulted with expert Bob Dodge of Artemis Testing Lab via video call. Dodge, using specialized light analysis to determine the cestus’s composition, delivered the bad news.
While authentic Roman cesti are primarily bronze (copper and tin), this one contained a suspiciously high 23% zinc content. A genuine artifact would have only 2-3%.
The verdict? A modern replica, perhaps only a century old, not the hoped-for millennium.
Chumlee’s $1,200 investment turned into a costly lesson, proving that even the most charming pawnbroker can fall prey to a convincing seller.