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NGC on Pawn Stars

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Revenant

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I don’t know if many / any others here do but I like watching Pawn Stars – I know it isn’t real, but it’s usually at least mildly entertaining.

I haven’t had cable in 10 years, so I watch it on Hulu when I have time and / or can get away with it with my toddler, who doesn’t seem to find it terribly interesting.

As a result, I don’t know how old / dated the episodes I’m seeing are – I just play what’s there. So what I’m about to comment on may be very old news to others here.

I saw a couple of episodes recently that I think were part of “Season 14” (whatever that means for that show) where coins feature prominently, and I was surprised to see NGC “name dropped” both times – NGC specifically.

In the first instance, a guy brought in a set of Oregon Trail commemoratives and Rick makes a comment about how to sell them and get the most out of the coins he’s going to have to take them out of the frame / display holder they’re in and get them graded by “NGC or somebody.” The thing that was interesting was that NGC was named, but not the other guys / leading competitor. They were just part of “or somebody.”

In the second instance I noticed, a guy brought in 2 graded coins. One he was asking about $30,000 for and the other he was asking about $15,000 for. One was graded by NGC and the other was graded by PCGS. Interestingly, a LOT more screen time was spent showing shots of the NGC slab and you can see the name NGC I think 3 times. You only see the PCGS on the PCGS coin once. That said, the NGC graded coin was the more valuable of the two, so that might have been the driver there.

I’ve seen other episodes in the past where Rick got a note graded. I don’t recall if he ever said the name of PMG or if they showed the label / holder in detail, but I thought it looked like it was graded by PMG and not PCGS currency.

Anyway… Just something interesting / funny that I noticed while watching a show and seeing my hobby and TPGs pop up in the “pop culture.” The apparent preference / bias towards naming / using NGC just really stuck out at me in this case.

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2 hours ago, gherrmann44 said:

There may also be some kind of an agreement between Rick and NGC.

Well, based on them slabbing signed "Old Man" coins (that are produced by SMI), I'd say there's at least some kind of relationship there.

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Hi thanks for the Journal. These guys show up at coin shows to promote there own coins with autographs when there not in jail. I started watching it in the beginning I watched them rip off a young woman. That was it for me. There in business to get there best price for what you own and know the real value. They will undercut anyone. Your right it's fake. I wonder when us hard collecting  people pass on will they make a coin of us. That I will never understand. I have seen people walk out. Those are the smart ones. Well I'm not going to discuss this show anymore since I don't watch it anymore. Many people enjoy it. If you enjoy something watch it and enjoy it. That's what shows are for. Thanks again Mike

 

 

 

 

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I remember one very old episode where the Old Man got chastised by Rick for missing the CC on a Morgan and almost selling it for some relatively, I think $50, cheap price.  That was a raw one.  I used to watch them a lot but I tired of their completely staged customer interactions.  I understand that is the nature of the beast in the reality show game, I am just tired of it.  Having said that, I still enjoy American Pickers, even though it is equally staged.

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25 minutes ago, Mokiechan said:

I remember one very old episode where the Old Man got chastised by Rick for missing the CC on a Morgan and almost selling it for some relatively, I think $50, cheap price.  That was a raw one.  I used to watch them a lot but I tired of their completely staged customer interactions.  I understand that is the nature of the beast in the reality show game, I am just tired of it.  Having said that, I still enjoy American Pickers, even though it is equally staged.

From what I understand, laws in that state prevent them from filming in the actual Pawn Shop so all of the filming occurs on a sound stage. I've also heard that some of the people that come in with "rare items" that "experts" have to come in to authenticate are employees or family members of the "expert" coming into authenticate it... so... yeah. All fake. But I think most days it's entertaining enough and, if I'm honest, a lot of times I just use it as background noise while I do other things and just half watch it. I remember the episode you're talking about with the old man and the CC. American Pickers is okay. There's definitely some work in editing to make their visits seem more interesting and make their negotiations more rapid than they possibly can be - you don't negotiate prices on 10-12 items, but not take notes, write anything down, or have a running tally. I don't buy that, but you also don't see money changing hands at the time they agree on a price for each item - or ever usually.

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Well.....I myself have never liked Pawn Stars at all.  Once you've actually worked in a place similar to that (in my case, a brick and mortar coin shop that also bought bullion and jewelry), the fake-ness (yes, I invented a word) of that show stands out like a sore thumb.  And I really dislike the four main "characters" of the show, especially Rick himself and Chumlee.....I can't stand them!! However, it is kind of cool to hear NGC mentioned in pop culture, even if it is in a venue I intensely dislike.  However.....NGC grading those stupid, hideous "Old Man" things.....that's not so cool, in my opinion.  It's right up there with ANACS certifying Dan Carr "Fantasy Overstrikes" in my mind.  Just my opinion on all of this.  As always, feel free to disagree with me everyone :)

Edited by Mohawk
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2 hours ago, Mohawk said:

And I really dislike the four main "characters" of the show, especially Rick himself and Chumlee.....I can't stand them!! 

They definitely have their ups and downs with regards to tolerability. With Chumlee I just have to assume that most of what he does is an act because I just can't believe he really is that dense.

I tend to find Corey more unlikable than Rick though.

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7 minutes ago, Revenant said:

They definitely have their ups and downs with regards to tolerability. With Chumlee I just have to assume that most of what he does is an act because I just can't believe he really is that dense.

I tend to find Corey more unlikable than Rick though.

I think with Chumlee, you're right, but given his track record with law enforcement off-screen, he's clearly a jack*ss in real life in a completely different way.  His onscreen stuff is still obnoxious to me, though, act or not.  As far as Rick and Corey, I dislike Rick more than Corey but that's kind of like saying I'd rather have a turkey vulture defecate on me when I'm out in the field birdwatching than to have it get scared and vomit on me....you really don't want either option.

Edited by Mohawk
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I have never seen an episode of Pawn Stars but I have seen Rick's razor and identity theft commercials until I was blue in the face (I frequently mute commercials). Given my exposure to his cheesy commercials and everyone's commentary, I can see that I'm not missing anything. In this instance, ignorance is bliss! 

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12 hours ago, Mohawk said:

Well.....I myself have never liked Pawn Stars at all.  Once you've actually worked in a place similar to that (in my case, a brick and mortar coin shop that also bought bullion and jewelry), the fake-ness (yes, I invented a word) of that show stands out like a sore thumb.  And I really dislike the four main "characters" of the show, especially Rick himself and Chumlee.....I can't stand them!! However, it is kind of cool to hear NGC mentioned in pop culture, even if it is in a venue I intensely dislike.  However.....NGC grading those stupid, hideous "Old Man" things.....that's not so cool, in my opinion.

That is why I like the Fake-Ness of American Pickers much more than Pawn Stars, the cast of characters is actually likeable.  Pawn Stars Stars are mostly all obnoxious.

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5 hours ago, gherrmann44 said:

I have never seen an episode of Pawn Stars but I have seen Rick's razor and identity theft commercials until I was blue in the face (I frequently mute commercials). Given my exposure to his cheesy commercials and everyone's commentary, I can see that I'm not missing anything. In this instance, ignorance is bliss! 

So true, Gary.  So very true.

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5 hours ago, Mokiechan said:

That is why I like the Fake-Ness of American Pickers much more than Pawn Stars, the cast of characters is actually likeable.  Pawn Stars Stars are mostly all obnoxious.

I agree with you there, Mokie.  At least the guys on American Pickers seem like they're nice guys instead of a bunch of arrogant, obnoxious jerks.

Edited by Mohawk
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2 hours ago, Mohawk said:

I agree with you there, Mokie.  At least the guys on American Pickers seem like they're nice guys instead of a bunch of arrogant, obnoxious jerks.

Ah, but one of the best parts of the show is when they think they're smarter than they are and get bit hard - fake or not, that's funny.

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3 hours ago, Revenant said:

Ah, but one of the best parts of the show is when they think they're smarter than they are and get bit hard - fake or not, that's funny.

Agreed 100% my friend.  That's probably the best part of that show, actually.

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