Additional Coverage:
- ‘Pawn Stars’ guest brings a rare 18th century Buddha statue and Rick Harrison gave it his best offer (marketrealist.com)
Rick Harrison, the notoriously thrifty negotiator of “Pawn Stars,” occasionally opens his wallet for truly remarkable finds. A recent episode showcased one such instance, featuring a stunning bronze Buddha statue.
The seller hoped for $10,000, a figure Harrison initially scoffed at. However, expert Phineas Kastle’s appraisal quickly changed the game.
Kastle identified the statue as a Tibetan piece from the 18th century, a period increasingly difficult to source high-quality artifacts from due to historical pillaging. He confirmed its authenticity and cited similar pieces fetching $10,000 to $15,000 at auction.
Harrison, visibly surprised, admitted he’d underestimated the statue’s value. While he acknowledged its age, he’d initially considered the asking price “absolutely nuts.”
Despite being proven wrong, Harrison remained true to form, negotiating the price down to $7,500. The seller, though perhaps slightly disappointed, accepted the offer, explaining the statue was a gift and the sale represented pure profit.
Online, viewers reacted with amusement, speculating on the original gift-giver’s potential regrets after seeing the episode.
This wasn’t the first time an expert appraisal forced Harrison to reconsider his initial offer. Another episode featured a pre-Columbian Colima pottery duck, which the seller hoped to offload for $4,000, claiming the artifact brought bad luck.
Harrison, ever the skeptic, called in an expert. The expert confirmed the duck’s authenticity, dating it between 200 BC and 300 AD, and explaining these pieces were often buried with the deceased as provisions for the afterlife.
The expert’s valuation? A staggering $8,000 – double the seller’s asking price.
In a rare turn of events, Harrison matched the seller’s original offer, demonstrating that even the savviest negotiator can be surprised by the treasures that walk through the pawn shop doors.