Additional Coverage:
- ‘Pawn Stars’ boss Rick Harrison pays a fortune for small rock that’s possibly older than Earth (marketrealist.com)
“Pawn Stars” Rick Harrison, known for his tough negotiating tactics, surprised viewers by shelling out over $2,000 for a small rock. The catch?
This wasn’t just any rock; it was a meteorite, potentially billions of years old. A guest brought the space rock onto the show, claiming it was “out of this world.”
Harrison, intrigued but cautious, called in meteorite expert Robert Verish to authenticate the find.
Verish, a self-proclaimed meteorite hunter with decades of experience, used a magnet and microscope to examine the tiny specimen. The guest had originally located the meteorite using a magnet, noting a strong attraction.
Under the microscope, Verish identified the telltale round grains of metal and silicone, confirming its extraterrestrial origin. He declared the rock older than Earth itself, formed in the vastness of space long before our planet solidified.
Harrison, clearly impressed, admitted, “Wow, that’s pretty cool.”
Adding to its value, the guest revealed a matching piece of the meteorite resided at UCLA, indicating it was cataloged and scientifically significant. Verish appraised the rock at $4,000. After some negotiation, Harrison and the guest settled on a price of $2,100.
Not all rocks brought to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop are cosmic treasures. In another episode, a woman presented a 40-pound, saucer-shaped rock, hoping it was a valuable meteorite.
She’d consulted other experts, but none could identify it. Harrison, ever the optimist, called in his own expert.
A quick examination revealed the rock was a concretion, a common formation created when water seeps into a hollow rock over millions of years. While interesting, concretions lack the monetary value of meteorites, unless sold to a dedicated rock collector.