--- product_id: 1704947 title: "License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver" brand: "rick harrison, tim keown" price: "31656CFA" currency: XOF in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.sn/products/1704947-license-to-pawn-deals-steals-and-my-life-at-gold store_origin: SN region: Senegal --- # License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver **Brand:** rick harrison, tim keown **Price:** 31656CFA **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver by rick harrison, tim keown - **How much does it cost?** 31656CFA with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.sn](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/1704947-license-to-pawn-deals-steals-and-my-life-at-gold) ## Best For - rick harrison, tim keown enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted rick harrison, tim keown brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description In Las Vegas, there's a family-owned business called the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, run by three generations of the Harrison family: Rick; his son, Big Hoss; and Rick's dad, the Old Man. Now License to Pawn takes readers behind the scenes of the hit History show Pawn Stars and shares the fascinating life story of its star, Rick Harrison, and the equally intriguing story behind the shop, the customers, and the items for sale. Rick hasn't had it easy. He was a math whiz at an early age, but developed a similarly uncanny ability to find ever-deepening trouble that nearly ruined his life. With the birth of his son, he sobered up, reconnected with his dad, and they started their booming business together. License to Pawn also offers an entertaining walk through the pawn shop's history. It's a captivating look into how the Gold & Silver works, with incredible stories about the crazy customers and the one-of-a-kind items that the shop sells. Rick isn't only a businessman; he's also a historian and keen observer of human nature. For instance, did you know that pimps wear lots of jewelry for a reason? It's because if they're arrested, jewelry doesn't get confiscated like cash does, and ready money will be available for bail. Or that WWII bomber jackets and Zippo lighters can sell for a freakishly high price in Japan? Have you ever heard that the makers of Ormolu clocks, which Rick sells for as much as $15,000 apiece, frequently died before forty thanks to the mercury in the paint? Rick also reveals the items he loves so much he'll never sell. The shop has three Olympic bronze medals, a Patriots Super Bowl ring, a Samurai sword from 1490, and an original Iwo Jima battle plan. Each object has an incredible story behind it, of course. Rick shares them all, and so much more -- there's an irresistible treasure trove of history behind both the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop and the life of Rick Harrison. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Asin | 1401324304 | | Dimensions | 6.13 x 9.25 inches | | Edition | First Edition | | Isbn 10 | 9781401324308 | | Isbn 13 | 978-1401324308 | | Item Weight | 1 pounds | | Language | English | | Print Length | 272 pages | | Publication Date | June 7, 2011 | | Publisher | Hyperion | | Reading Age | 18 years and up | ## Images ![License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61n5bUVarNL.jpg) ![License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61DjInvdvTL.jpg) ![License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61EI5C1uI-L.jpg) ![License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61VfNUfLx3L.jpg) ![License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/610OnWg47LL.jpg) ## Available Options This product comes in different **Format** options. ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Book, Read the whole book cover to cover on the plane on the way to Vegas *by on Reviewed in the United States July 2, 2011* Great book. Read it cover to cover on the plane on my way to Vegas. The book has wonderful insights on Rick's beginnings and his struggle to overcome his seizures. The book goes on to discuss their life in San Diego, right down the street from Jack Murphy stadium (Qualcom stadium now) in Mission Valley. The old man comes into the living room one day says "time to move on boys, we just can't make a go of it here anymore." Back then the mother and the old man were into real estate. The family moves to Vegas were Rick talks about how he fought the city about getting a pawn license. Apparently in Clark County the rules are that you have to get a pawn license based on the city's population. So Rick checks in weekly to find out what Las Vegas city's population is. At the time he started calling in, the city's population was 220,000 people(that was back in the late 70's). He called in till the cities population grew to 250,000 people. Apparently Clark County only issues pawn shop licenses for every 50,000 people. So when the cities population grew to 250,000, Rick went to the city's courthouse to get a license and they said they were not issuing licenses. The words that Rick used were "we aren't accepting those", What a crock, so the old man and Rick get a lawyer and fight the city to get a license and succeed. The original location of the pawn shop was downtown on Freemont Street, but then they moved and got zoned to move the Pawn shop to Las Vegas Blvd in 1988. You'll love the story about the local councilman who was against the Harrison's opening the pawnshop and then changed his tune to fully support them. (Guess Brad Pitt has it right in Ocean's 11; in this town your luck can change just that quickly).Pretty interesting story about Corey and Chumlee and how they were on drugs from age 17 to 22 on meth. They used to just sit in a trailer and just do drugs all day. I guess one day Rick and Old Man had them sent to a job program in Reno which did them a lot of good. Corey comes back from the job program to start doing drugs again, but midstream stops doing drugs and swears off of it for life. He starting telling himself every time he wanted to get "high" he would eat a double bacon cheeseburger at Carl's Jr. Back then Corey was about 150lbs. Chumlee also stoped doing drugs and both of them starting to work for Rick. One of Rick's moneymaking ideas was buying a Quizno's by the federal building downtown Las Vegas. Chumlee and Corey worked there for a while. The thought was that having this business would do well since many other restaurants were father away and federal workers would want to order sandwiches from this Quizno's. But Rick failed to check into the food court that was built inside the federal building and because of this the business failed. Oh well, good try.The way the old man is on the show is how his story is told in the book. He is pretty "crusty" and is comes through in his section of the book. However, he is a good man, takes care of family and served the Navy proudly for 20 years. So the guy you see on TV, is the same guy in the book. One story that the old man is very familiar with is their recognizable customers. There is a story about a guy who came into the shop every day and used to do chores for "buck". The story is great about how he carts a load of alcohol up and down Las Vegas Blvd for "buck". The story ends with him getting into a rather unusual act with "peaches"(Corey's cousin") and Corey has to tell the guy he has to leave. The guy dies 6 months after that. Pretty sad. Rick ends the book with a some his thoughts and people he has run into. Like he says in "Pawn Stars", "one thing I learned after 21 years, you never know that is going to walk into that door".For anyone who loves the show will love this book. Highly recommend. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Fun! *by on Reviewed in the United States August 1, 2011* Love this book. Couldn't put it down and read it in a few evenings. Just to set expectations: I don't like/watch ANY reality shows except for my recently discovered vice, Pawn Stars. Love the show, love the cast, love the stories.This book gives you a peek into their lives, and it's amazing/inspiring to hear what they have lived through in order to get where they are today. These guys have backgrounds not to be proud of, yet they share them with us, and they've managed to rise above them to become TV stars who feel more like friends. If you like the show, you'll love the stories in this book. If you've never watched the show, you'll still find it very entertaining.While I'm sure there were some ghostwriters, or at least very hands-on editors involved here, you never feel like these words came from anyone else. You hear Rick's voice in these stories, and in the chapters by Corey and Chumlee as well. A lot of care went into capturing their personalities in print.It's hard for me to award 5 stars to something that's obviously not high literature, but I strongly recommend it. My only wish, and I can understand why they didn't fulfill it, is that there are some situations in the show that absolutely MUST have been staged... characters doing things that are so obviously going to get them in trouble, you know it had to be for the sake of the cameras. I would have liked to have read a little backstage revelations on some of these shenanigans.Keep it up Pawn Stars! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ If you like the show, then get the book *by on Reviewed in the United States June 12, 2011* I really don't have a lot to add to the reviews already written, as they have pretty much summed it up. If you like the show (and I've watched it since the very first episode), you'll find the book very interesting. The best thing is that it lets you see Old Man, Rick, Corey and Chumlee as real people instead of just characters on a reality show. It also shows you that this family didn't have their current success handed to them, but came by it only after many years of struggle and hard work.Someone previously mentioned feeling sorry for the Old Man for not being able to work the counter anymore. The reason none of the four Pawn Stars can work the counter any longer is because by law, a pawn is private transaction. Nowadays, with the shop packed all day with tourists with cameras and video recorders trying to get photos of the four guys, the privacy of any transaction they're involved in is compromised.It's been a year since I visited the shop on a jaunt to Las Vegas. Just to give you an idea of the impact the TV show has had on this small business, a good part of the shop is now dedicated to souvenir sales - T-shirts, shot glasses, bobble heads, refrigerator magnets, etc. (they move all that stuff out when filming in that part of the store). Before the show started, they had 12 employees. Now they have 47. I dropped by mid-morning and the parking lot was about full (but I did get a space). I was able to walk right in, though the store was packed full of people and it's not very big. I drove by later in the day and there was a line of people down the sidewalk waiting to get in. In the book, Rick relates that they now have security outside that lets in 60 people at a time and they've also installed misters outside to cool down the people waiting in line. When I was there, the Old Man was sitting at his desk behind the counter and they had that area roped off with a sign that said something to the effect that you weren't supposed to enter that area unless you were doing business with the shop. I kind of felt sorry for him, as he was kind of like an animal in a zoo, with everyone staring at him. A couple of people waved at him to get his attention and asked if they could get photos with him. He eventually came out on the floor to do photos. He didn't look like he was having fun (but even on the TV show, he never looks like he's having fun - even when he is! LOL). Now that they've built new offices in the back, my guess is that you would be lucky to see any of the four stars if you were to drop by these days. I'm sure they stay in the back as much as possible as it would be next to impossible to get any work done out front with the hoards of fans constantly bugging them.Rick's put together a really entertaining companion for the TV show. As previously stated, if you like the TV show, then the book is highly recommended. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.sn/products/1704947-license-to-pawn-deals-steals-and-my-life-at-gold](https://www.desertcart.sn/products/1704947-license-to-pawn-deals-steals-and-my-life-at-gold) --- *Product available on Desertcart Senegal* *Store origin: SN* *Last updated: 2026-09-01*