" On this episode of pawn stars..." " Take a look at my abraham lincoln etching." " Autographed at the bottom." "That's incredible." "But first hint on anything this age is," "Why do we have black ink there?" " Right." " And I'm not saying this is fake." "I'm just saying it could be." " I have a badge from the old dragnet series." " This was one of the very first police shows." " There are no more of those badges anywhere." " ¶ dum-de-dum-dum, dum ¶ [laughs]" " It's a parade cannon" "Used by civil war soldiers." " I really want to hear this thing go boom." " It produces a substantial report." " So it's loud." " Extremely loud." " I'm rick harrison, and this is my pawn shop." "I work here with my old man and my son, big hoss." "Everything in here has a story and a price." "One thing I've learned after 21 years," "You never know what is gonna come through that door." "Hey, how's it going?" " Hi." "Very good." " What do we have today?" " I have a badge from the old dragnet series." " ¶ dum-de-dum-dum, dum ¶ [laughs]" " I came to the pawn shop today" "To try to sell my vintage dragnet badge." "I'd like to sell it today because it stays in a drawer." "I'm hoping I can get $500 for it." "I really don't want to sell it" "If I can't get at least $350." " So how did you get it?" "Just the facts." "Just the facts, ma'am." " Okay." " [laughs]" " I was eight years old." "My uncle worked on the show as a member of the crew." "I believe it was given out" "As a lapel pin for people to wear." "And he gave it to me." " Okay." "I loved it when I was a kid" "Because to a kid, it seemed so real." " It did." " "the names have been changed" "To protect the innocent," you know." "This was, like, one of the very first police shows." "Dragnet was groundbreaking." "It started off on the radio in the 1940s" "And was on and off tv until the early '70s." "It was based on real- life police cases," "And it set standards still used on cop shows today." "You know if they gave out full-size badges" "Or anything else like that?" " Never heard of it." "Can't find any." "Can't find this one." "There are none of these in existence" "Except the one you're looking at." " That's pretty amazing." "The other cool thing is, it actually looks" "Like it's made by a badge company." "There's a few big badge manufacturers" "In the United States," "And I think they probably went to one of them" "To have this made." "A lot of old tv shows had stuff you could send away for," "But this is way different." "It was only given to staff members," "So it's much more rare." "I've never seen one before," "And I'm thinking collectors of tv memorabilia" "Will definitely be interested." "What'd you want for it?" " I'd like to get $500." " $500 is not gonna happen." "I'll go 300." " Could we do 400?" " If you had a large one," "There probably wouldn't be a problem." " They didn't make that in a large size." " I know, but the problem is, really small things like this" "Are a much tougher sell because they're harder to display." "I'll go $350." " There are no more of those badges anywhere." " What do you think, chum?" " I mean, there's probably not as many dragnet fans" "As there was 20 years ago." " $350 for it." "That's the best I can do." " We got a deal." " All right." "$350." "All right, you want to write it up, chum?" " Sure." "Let's go right over here." " Okay." " This badge is cool." "But I think chum got it right." "The market for dragnet memorabilia" "Is only gonna get softer." " What is this?" " I think it's a mandolin." " I've never seen one like this before." " That's metal, corey." " Yeah, it's metal." " Looks like it's been run over by a truck." "[air horn blasts]" " I decided to come to the pawn shop today" "To sell my old mandolin." "It's very beat up." "I'm not sure if it's worth anything," "But I have no need for it," "So I'm gonna try to see how much I can get for it." " Where'd you get it?" " I actually found it in a basement" "Of an old home back in new jersey." " I've seen wooden mandolins." "I've never seen a metal one." " You ever hear of national?" " Not really." "Mandolins are used largely in country western, cajun music." "Mandolins was used in europe back in the 1700s," "And they were a big deal in america" "When bluegrass music got popular." " When I found this in the basement," "You know, I figured it had some value" "Because I know a lot of people collect these older instruments." " I'm just worried about the condition of it." "I mean, it's all there." "It just, I think, needs to be a little restored." " Yeah." "All the key things has been replaced" "With little bits of wood." "Needs a lot of tender lovin' care." " So what are you looking to do with it, man?" "Pawn it, sell it?" " I'd like to sell it." " You got a price in mind" "Of what you're looking to get for it?" " Um, you know," "I have no idea what it's worth." " That makes two of us." "Let me get somebody down here to give us a price for it." " That'd be great." " I can't say for sure" "This mandolin is actually worth anything," "But it's different enough" "To have somebody come take a look at it." " From time to time, I get a call from this guy" "Who collects cannons." "We've never made a deal, but he just called me again" "And promised me I would love this one." "So corey, chum, and I are gonna go meet him" "Out at the gun range." "So what do we got here?" " It's an antique parade, or saluting, cannon." " I'd like to shoot a potato out of it." " [chuckles]" " I called the guys at the pawn shop today" "To come down and see my antique parade cannon." "This cannon, I actually keep it in my house," "But it is a little bit on the large side." "I've done a lot of research," "And I'm pretty sure it's worth $60,000." " Can you tell me anything about it?" " This is obviously a breech-loading cannon." "You insert a cartridge in it that's preloaded with powder." "And it was used by the civil war soldiers after the war" "At a g.A.R. Post." "Do you know what that is?" " Yeah, the grand army of the republic." " This was their cannon that they used in memorial parades" "To salute the civil war soldiers," "And it produces a very nice, substantial report." " So it's loud." " Extremely loud." " The grand army of the republic was a veterans group" "That started right after the civil war." "They were just a social group when they started," "But they grew into one of the most powerful organizations" "For veterans." "So where did you get this thing?" " I bought it from a museum that was deacquisitioning some items." " Okay." "Did they have any paperwork or anything else" "When you bought it?" " Eh, not really, to tell you the truth." " Is the carriage original, and the caisson?" " Everything is all original." " This is an amazing old cannon." "You rarely see one of these in private hands," "And collectors go crazy for 'em," "But I hate that he's got no paperwork for it." "You have to be really careful about stuff like this." "So why did you want to sell this thing?" " My neighbors are getting pissed." " Okay." "[chuckles]" "Let me call up a buddy of mine." "Let me get him down here, have him take a look at it." "If everything's legit, maybe we can do something." "I really want to hear this thing go boom." " Oh, you'll love it." "All right." "Let's do it." " Let me go give my buddy a call." " He's bringing an expert." "Well, that's good." "Maybe he can alleviate his concern," "And he can pay." " Is this thing even worth anything?" " Yeah, it is, especially with the hawaiian motif" "That's on this one." "But sounds like there might be something loose in it." " Yeah, it looks like it's been rode hard and put up wet." " Yeah." " I want to make sure, if I buy this thing," "The feds aren't gonna be running through my door" "And throwing' me in cuffs." " I need to look at certain aspects of this." "This is an issue." " You ever ran this thing past the atf?" " Not really, to tell you the truth." " Hey, how can I help you?" " Hi, um..." "I was wondering if you wanted to take a look" "At my abraham lincoln etching here." " That's not an etching." "That's a print." " Okay, my abraham lincoln print." " Okay." " I thought abe was bald." " Why would you think that abe lincoln was bald?" " 'cause he always wears that top hat." " It's a stovepipe hat," "And he wasn't bald." " Ooh, excuse me." " [sighs] okay." " Come to the pawn shop today to see if I could sell" "My abraham lincoln print." "The reason I want to sell it today" "Is, I've had it for so long" "And not really done anything with it." "I don't really know how much it's worth," "But with it being abraham lincoln," "There's a chance that it could be worth a lot of money," "And that would be pretty exciting." " So you have a print here of abraham lincoln" "That's autographed at the bottom, "a." "Lincoln."" "We have oxidation around the edges of the paper here," "So you can tell that it's pretty old." " Mm-hmm." " Lincoln died in 1865." " Right." " People have been putting up pictures of lincoln" "For over 100 years." "Everyone points to him as an example" "Of what a president should be." "I mean, the guy helped end slavery" "And guided us through a civil war." "He's earned a place of respect in history." "You got something really interesting here." "In 1865, they still used lamp black, iron filings." "It was a weird combination for ink, okay?" "After 60, 70, 80 years," "Those iron filings began to rust." " Okay." " That's why, when you look" "At old documents and things like that," "All the letters are no longer black." "They're orange." " Okay." "That's interesting." " First hint on anything this age is," "Why do we have black ink?" " Right." "Right." " All right?" "You every hear of joseph cosey?" " No." " He could forge just about anything." "Joseph cosey was one of the most famous forgers" "In american history." "Cosey faked everyone from benjamin franklin" "To george washington" "And sold them to big- time collectors." "He even forged a copy" "Of the declaration of independence." "This is something that was done," "I believe, 1920s, 1930s." " Oh, really?" " Yeah." "He did a great abraham lincoln signature." "Okay, I mean, it was identical," "Except for, for some reason," "He always lined up the "a" with the "lincoln."" "Abraham lincoln's "a" was always below the "l."" "This is lined up perfectly." " Okay." " So if you ever see the "a" lined up with the "lincoln,"" "It's joseph cosey." " So, I mean-- it worth anything?" " Believe it or not," "The forgeries by cosey are worth a little bit of money." " Really?" " Because it was by a famous forger." "But..." "What you have here is a copy of a forgery." "And I know that because one of my guys actually bought" "One of these a few years ago, and I had it checked out." " So is it worth anything at all?" " Nope." " Yeah, [bleep]." " I mean, 'cause you don't even have the forgery." " Right." " You mean this is a copy of a copy?" " It's a copy of a forgery." " It's not even the real forgery." "[laughter]" " All right." "Thanks for bringing it in, man." " Thank you." "Appreciate it." "Unfortunately, he wasn't able to make me an offer," "But I think it's gonna be a real interesting conversation piece" "From this point on." " Earlier, a guy brought in a mandolin" "That looks like it's made completely out of metal." "It's a new one to me, so I called my buddy jesse down" "To come take a look at it and see what he thinks." "What is this?" " Oh." "Well, it's obviously a mandolin." "And, uh..." "It's in pretty rough shape." " It looks like it's been rode hard and put up wet." " Yeah." "I work at a vintage guitar store here in las vegas" "Called cowtown guitars." "Every time the guys get any kind of weird instrument in," "They give me a call, and I try to help them out." " So why'd they make it out of metal, man?" " They made 'em out of metal" "So they could put this cone inside of here" "And make it louder than the acoustic instruments" "So it could be heard over horns" "And all that stuff in a big band." "It's probably one of the last metal body resonators" "That you see from the '40s because of the war effort." "They stopped making them out of metal." "And before there were amplifiers," "They tried this resonator technology" "That they used in these to make them loud enough." "It's pretty rad." "This one is probably a late '30s, early '40s." "They were actually a pretty popular instrument." "Had a pick guard on it." "It was probably tortoiseshell, and it's long-gone." "It's really, really tarnished, but... [strums chords] the cone is still intact." "And the little piece of wood here" "Called the biscuit," "Which makes it resonate off the cone," "That's all still there." " I mean, is this thing even worth anything?" " Believe it or not, yeah, it is," "Especially with the hawaiian motif that's on this one." "It's a style." " I didn't even know there was any motif on it." " Yeah." "[laughs]" "In this condition, this one, I would say," "Is worth about..." "About 1,000 bucks." " Wow." "That's--that's great." " Are you sure, man?" "This thing looks beat." " It's a vintage national." "I mean, that is the company to have." " Would it be worth having it restored?" " Yeah, you know." "If it was in really good shape," "You'd probably pull close to $3,000 out of it, easy." " Wow." "Thanks for coming down." " No problem." " Appreciate it." " Any time, guys." " It looked like it had been through a war" "And left at the bottom of a swamp," "But because of what it is," "And it actually being complete and still working," "It was actually still worth some money." " And you heard jesse say" "I'm gonna have to put some work into it." "I'd like to offer you around $300 for it, man." " Um, I mean, he did say it's worth $1,000." " He did say it's worth $1,000." "I'm gonna put it on my shelf, I'm gonna ask $999 for it," "And I'm gonna let someone" "Beat me all the way down to $800." " Would you do $500?" " You wanna do $500?" " Yeah, go ahead." "Let's do it." " All right, man." "Let's go do some paperwork real quick." " Okay." "Very good." "Thank you." " I still can't believe this thing" "Is actually worth 1,000 bucks," "But I guess I'll just have to wait and see" "Till it's actually restored." " Earlier, I checked out an antique parade cannon" "That looks awesome," "But there's no paperwork." "So I asked my buddy sean to come out" "And see what he could tell me about it." " Hey, sean." "What's goin' on, buddy?" " Today rick called me out to the middle of nowhere." "And this thing be better worth it," "Because this was a long drive." "Holy, shh..." "[bleep]." " How you doing?" " Check out this badass cannon." " Yeah." "So what research have you done about this?" " Well, the first owner would have been the g.A.R. Post" "And the sons of veterans." "They had it built for them for the parades." " Civil war veterans, they would want to have g.A.R. Conventions," "Grand army of the republic," "And all the veterans would gather with their families," "And they would fire one of these big cannons" "Out of respect for their fallen soldiers." "And you've fired it?" " Yeah, I have fired it." " I really want to hear this thing go boom." " Let's burn some powder." "[laughter]" " Awesome." " Let's go." " Let's load this thing up." "Your cannon, your honors." " All right." "I'm gonna put the cartridge on." " Okay." " Screw off this collar," "Put it around the cartridge," "And then screw it onto the breach," "And that also acts as a shell extractor" "When you want to remove it from the cannon." "There." "It goes in like that." "And it will lock in position." "And you need that lanyard." "Stick it on here." "And it's ready to go" "When you pull the lanyard." "Then she's gonna let loose." " Guys, make sure your earpieces are in," "And it wouldn't even hurt to put your hands over your ears" "On top of that when this thing goes." "All right, you guys, need to get back." " Okay." " Three, two, one." "Fire!" " Me, corey, chum, and sean are out at the gun range," "Checking out an antique parade cannon," "And as part of the inspection, we're actually gonna fire it," "And if all goes well, I'm gonna try and buy it." " Three, two, one." "Fire!" "[cannon booms] [laughter and applause]]" " That was awesome." " Yeah!" " Sweet." "That boom knocked my glasses off my head." " I felt a shock wave hit me." "It was amazing." "The guy was right." "Now that I've seen it fire, I'm hooked." "It'll look amazing in my showroom..." "If I can make it fit." "My big concern is, is it legal to own this thing?" " Absolutely." "You definitely have to know what you're buying." " I can buy any cannon made 1898 and back," "And there's no federal paperwork." "An antique firearm," "The government doesn't care about them 'cause no one's going to war with these things." "But 1899 and forward, there can be some problems." "I want to make sure, if I buy this thing," "The feds aren't gonna be, you know," "Running through my door and throwing me in cuffs." " Absolutely." "All right, so I need to look at certain aspects of this" "To determine, hopefully, when that barrel was made." "So what research have you done about the plaque?" " You know, all it says is "rickett's battery"" "And the camp number, 40." " Okay." "Down at the bottom, it looks like "s-e-p-t,"" "For the abbreviation of the September." "I see a curl down here with a "3."" "And it's actually..." ""1903."" " I can't buy any guns made after 1898," "So this looks like a total bust." " September of 1903, this was dedicated," "But..." "Just the pure fact that this was applied to this barrel" "Doesn't tell me without a shadow of a doubt" "That this was made in 1903." "The overall form of this might be 1890s." "This is where it becomes a real gray area" "When it comes to the law," "That this is okay in nevada." " All right," "So it's something I would definitely love to buy," "But until I know everything for sure," "I can't even make an offer." " Okay." " I would love to buy this cannon," "But unless he can track down some documentation" "Proving when it was made," "There's no way I can touch it." " Earlier, I dropped off a steel mandolin" "With my buddy jesse so he could polish it up." "He called to let me know that he's all done," "And he's even gonna drop it off at the shop." "What we got?" "Oh, man, that looks awesome." " Done." "Yeah, you can actually play it now." "This mandolin had to be restored." "When I got it, it was in pretty rough shape" "And really rusted and tarnished." "It's impossible to sell a stringed instrument" "When you can't play it." "Put a lot of work into it." "It's actually a really well-playing instrument" "And sounds really good." " God, it doesn't even look like the same thing." " It's just beautiful." " It came out pretty good." " It came out nice." " So what all did you do to it, man?" " Well, we had to clean it up." "You remember, it was really tarnished." "You could hardly even tell that it was chrome or shiny at all." "So we cleaned it and polished it." "We had to replace the pick guard." "Tracked down a real piece of italian lucite," "Which was really nice." "We had to put new tuning buttons on the original machines." "We had to clean the headstock up." "We had to clean the frets, restring it, obviously." "We got it all playing." " Yeah, it came out nice." "It's got the motif on the back too." " Yeah, you can actually see it now." " Yeah, you can see it now." "You couldn't see it before." " Yeah." "You know, you can tell that somebody" "Had left strings on it for a long time." "The biggest thing you can do is loosen the strings." "As the wood takes in moisture and lets out moisture," "The guitar moves, and if the strings don't," "It tends to break things, crack things," "And stuff like that." " Hey, rick!" "Come here and look at this, son." "Jesse outdid hisself." " Oh, that is nice." " The key thing now is, you can actually play it," "Which makes it to where you can actually sell it." " Okay." " Yeah." " Can you play it?" " Well, I can give it a whirl." "[laughter]" " Give it a shot, jesse." "[bright string music]" "¶ ¶" "That's about as-- [applause]" "That's about all my mandolin playing you get." " All right." "Mandolin sounds good." "Now put a price tag on it," "And let's sell it while we're still young." " I paid 500 bucks for it." "What'd it cost me to get it fixed?" " You know, 150 bucks to get it cleaned up and strung up" "And everything." " Cool, so I got $650 in it." "What do you think it's worth?" " You can probably get two, a little over two probably." " $2,000?" " Yeah." "Yeah." " Okay, sweet." " Yeah." " Jesse, we really appreciate it." " Thanks a lot." " Have a good day." "Rick, you're not the only one" "That makes money around this joint." " Just most of it." "[laughs]"