On the cover

Rick "The Spotter" Harrison of History Channel's Pawn Stars
Rick "The Spotter" Harrison of History Channel's Pawn Stars

The history of money lending and pawnbrokers goes back hundreds of years. It's really quite simple. Money is loaned against an item and you've got a certain amount of time to either pick it up, pay on it or lose it. It's not the most optimal of situations, but it has been the saving grace of many a person who just needed some quick cash.

But the pawnbroker isn't in it just for the thrill of helping his fellow man. Enter the men of the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas. Three generations of the Harrison family -- Rick, father Richard and son Corey -- haggle over an array of items ranging from musical instruments an -- classic cars to antique war memorabilia in front of the cameras on the History Channel series Pawn Stars.

At 9 p.m. Monday, the 500th episode airs. The highlight is Rick's visit to Washington -- where he checks out a set of silver spoons made by American revolutionary Paul Revere and $2 million items that once belonged to George Washington. Back in Las Vegas, the guys deal with a talking candle prop from the series H.R. Pufnstuf and a flamingo given away at the opening of the 1946 Pink Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.

A second episode follows at 9:30. Items showcased include a Marc Chagall painting, a Boston Red Sox World Series ring, a first edition of Ken Kesey's novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and the BMW in which rapper Tupac Shakur was fatally shot.

-- Rosemary Boggs

Style on 01/21/2018

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