Only Olympic Bronze at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas

About a week ago a colleague surprised me with an invitation to work for three days at the Interbike convention in Las Vegas.

Three days in Vegas? Twist my arm!

During this, my second trip to Nevada, we wheeled and dealed with media on behalf of client WingFlyer, a new scooter that combines the feel of a bike with the workout of a stair stepper as the foot platform provides a pumping action creating the "flying" motion.

It was fun to also learn about popular cycling products and teams (though no Olympians spotted) on site.


When the show wrapped up on Friday, I caught a taxi to downtown Las Vegas for a visit to the world famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop where "Pawn Stars" was taping in-store on a Friday afternoon. To my surprise, there was a line about 100 fans deep waiting for entry into the shop, which is quite cozy when filled with tourists, but authentic to its portrayal on the History Channel series.

Of the show cast, during my visit only Rick Harrison, the shop's owner, was on site -- I stood across the counter from him while he spoke with a camera operator and they filmed b-roll for a deal in progress involving what appeared to be some very old firearms.

It was my hope Rick would make time to answer some questions about the many Olympic items for sale in the store, but Flip cameras are not allowed, and Rick left the building before many of my questions got answered.

















Lots of Olympic collectors know about the two Joe Greene Olympic bronze medals -- one each from Atlanta 1996 and Barcelona 1992 -- and how they made their way to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.

Going into the store, I vaguely recalled a brief "Pawn Stars" segment with the back story, but not the exact story.

According to Yamil, a worker in the shop, Greene's medals were pawned by a thief (who was later caught), but when Greene came to the shop to retrieve them, the Olympic medalist and Rick worked out a deal with the condition that the Harrisons would never re-sell the medals. To this day, the two bronze medals remain on display among the many "priceless" artifacts that draw throngs of visitors to the store.

Of course, Yamil's story and the store's claim that Greene's Olympic medals are not for sale, doesn't  jive with past news articles and YouTube videos about the medals, so I would still love to get the straight story from Rick.

What may surprise Olympic collectors or fans is that the shop also displays a 1960 Rome Olympic bronze medal (history unknown as of this blog post), a 1948 St. Moritz Olympic gold medal (priced at $8,000), a 1984 Longines pocket watch cast in gold with diamonds on the cover (see photo below) and other Olympic items such as a Calgary 1988 poster (overpriced -- way overpriced), a gold 1996 commemorative coin and a bronze statue of a slalom skier which may or may not be Olympic-related.

Non-Olympic items of interest include some rare first and second-edition books, a Chicago World's Fair/Columbian Expo souvenir photo book, many of the iconic items purchased on "Pawn Stars" and stacks of newly-printed Chumlee T-shirts.

Rick's new book, signed or unsigned, is also available.

A young sales associate, Krista, was helpful in providing more detail about the 1988 Winter Olympic poster (left) by artist Melanie Taylor Kent, signed and numberd 285/400 titled "Let the Games Begin." It's displayed at the front of the shop, while the Olympic medals, watch and coins are mostly in the same middle section of the store.

I asked a lot of questions about the 1960 Rome medal, which featured an older shop price tag of about $3,900. Wishing now I bought it on the spot with no questions asked, because later during my visit, the shop changed the price tag to "not for sale" (as shown in photos). I have call planned early next week to learn more about the history of this item and how it arrived at Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.

If you decide to visit the store, be prepared for a wait outside ("up to three hours on some days" according to one shop security guard) as the store now hosts an average of 6,000 visitors per day, according to Krista.

The shop is open to the public and free to enter from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with a pawnbroker's window open overnight providing 24/7 options to barter. They have no Olympic pins in the store -- in fact, there were only a handful of rare military pins, and a few boxed sets of NASCAR pins, about which to write.

While in line to enter the store, a man my age was waiting to negotiate a sale of several mint in box G.I. Joe action figures. He did not make it onto the "Pawn Stars" show but he did successfully negotiate a decent pawn deal at the counter, so don't be shy about bringing your wares to Gold & Silver Pawn Shop.

Thinking I'll bring my cassette tapes and VHS collections next time. Think they'll buy?

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Photos RE: A Day In D.C.

Here are some photos to accompany the Day In D.C. post.

A Day In D.C.

This past weekend I tacked on an extra day after a Friday business presentation in Alexandria, Va., and visited two favorite sites in Washington, D.C.

Twenty-four hours in downtown D.C. also afforded me an accidental visit to the "Hinckley Hilton" as my Mapquest printout directed me to the wrong hotel on Friday afternoon (though the mile-long walk on Connecticut Street was nice, and helped me locate a wonderful Thai restaurant for dinner).

On Saturday, my first tourism stop was to the National Portrait Gallery. I love this place -- always learn a lot with every visit. Any my three-hours inside yielded an introduction or reintroduction to some Folk Art masters, a surprise Georgia O'Keefe skyline painting from 1932 (gorgeous), and a peek at the Ronald Reagan installation which was a new addition since my most recent visit.

Though there were no direct Olympic references spotted, some of the Reagan-era portraits reminded me of his role in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Opening Ceremony; also, the Folk Art of Alabama/Georgia fame, Howard Finster, brought back notions of his creations for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

Another new addition (I think) was the enclosure of the museum's courtyard, which is now covered by a wonderful modern skylight.

The afternoon marked a return to the Newseum; my first visit was on Thanksgiving 2001, at the original location in Arlington, Va., and it was awesome to finally experience the Newseum's new home on Pennsylvania Ave.

Only moments after picking up the tickets, a trifecta of Olympic connections to the Newseum emerged. First, there is a "journalism in sport" film that brought to light several historic images from coverage of Olympians and the Olympics, from Muhammad Ali and Wilma Rudolph to more recent Olympic images from Barcelona, Atlanta, Athens and Beijing. The Olympic coverage was punctuated with Jim McKay's somber announcement "They're all gone" referencing the victims of the Munich Olympic hostage crisis carried live for more than 18 hours on ABC Sports.

Just outside the theatre for the sports film, I enjoyed the temporary "photos of the year" exhibition featuring several Olympic images of 2010 including the Vancouver Games and the first Youth Olympic Games at Singapore.

The third Olympic reference in the museum was in the video archive, where several Games' key clips are available via touch screen.

I was impressed with the new Newseum's outdoor overlook for Pennsylvania Ave., with commanding views of the Capitol Dome. Inside this viewing area they display a timeline of the week of Hurricane Katrina and how the news media (specifically print) covered the national tragedy (it did seem to me that more video highlights would enhance this gallery).

Of course, 9/11 and its upcoming 10th anniversary are prominently displayed with a headlines and video experience built around remains of the World Trade Center's radio tower. Somber, yes. Informative, yes. It was also interesting to read of many journalists who died in the line of duty. I found the Newseum also kept things current with an obviously new display featuring the last edition of the now-defunct Murdoch tabloid of London.

The one Achilles' Heel of the Newseum is its lack of social media displays, which were tucked behind several decades worth of historic broadcast coverage. It seems to me the Newseum has a real opportunity to inform its visitors of the rapid-fire changes underway through delivery of online news. They covered the basics -- would love to return to the Newseum with a new section or wing on social media in the last decade, big online news successes and flops.

Looking forward to another DC visit in the months ahead.

ISOH Symposium Set for Dec. 6

Tonight I learned briefly that the International Association of Olympic Historians (ISOH) launched on Dec. 5, 1991, in London. The same date in 1991 I believe yeilded a B- in World History class exams handed back to me at Edmond Memorial High School.

To celebrate 20 years of ISOH, the organization announced recently a symposium set for Dec. 6, 2011, at Haus Menden, St. Augustin, Germany. A brochure for the festivities states that "everyone interested in the history of the Olympic Movement is welcome to attend" with a registration fee of 70 Euros for non-members or 60 for members (students are free). For more information visit the "contacts" page a www.isoh.org and send an email to Anthony Th. Bijkerk via the site.

Chicago Sports Collectors Event

I'm in the Windy City sharing a dealer table at the National Sports Collectors Convention (a.k.a. "The National"), a five-day event at which baseball, Olympic and other sports memorabilia are showcased. Some tables are like museum showcases, while others (like mine) resemble a portable garage sale of souvenirs gathered from closets and draws full of five-ringed fare.

It's an interesting event, and also enjoyable to get acquainted or re-acquainted with several fellow Olympic collectors. The show is also challenging, finding the balance of selling items (to clear space in the apartment) with the desire to buy several items on sale.

Another highlight of the event: Meeting Olympic champion Dick Fosbury again (we first shook hands in Vancouver). Fosbury presented a keynote during a special dealer/collector dinner hosted by Olympin, which helped bring the Olympic section of the collector event to the USA for the first time (Olympic collector events of this scale traditionally take place in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the IOC sanctioned the Chicago event). Also discussed the World Olympians Association with Fosbury as he is president of the organization.

Pin collectors looking forward to London were dazzled by the official pin maker of London 2012 -- HONAV -- which as a corner display at the Chicago event. HONAV will produce 2,012 pins for London 2012, and sell up to 500 exclusive complete sets (retail price: about $17,000).

While The National will be back in the USA next year, I understand the Olympic section of the show next moves to Athens in 2012, which is perfect -- gives me another year to prepare my portable garage sale.

London 2012 Organizers Unveil "Goldfinger" Olympic Torch

If James Bond's nemesis Auric Goldfinger survived being sucked out of his personal aircraft, he'd be smiling at the new Olympic torch unveiled last week by LOCOG.

The gold-toned metal torch is already getting nicknames, and I'm here to add an Ian Fleming/007 connection (in case 1948 Olympic silver medalist Harold Sakata, a.k.a. "Oddjob," did not already connect London's Olympic heritage to the British secret agent).

London's celebration next year will include the three-sided -- you read it here first, I think -- "Goldfinger" Olympic torch to be carried across Greece and the U.K. starting May 19, 2012.

With details from the organizing committee press release, here's a bit more about the LOCOG Olympic torch by the numbers:

-- The design measures 800 cm long, weighs 800g and includes 8,000 perforations or rings symbolic of the 8K torchbearers who will use the torches to pass the flame

-- Approximately 110 runners per day will participate in the 70-day 2012 Olympic torch relay, maintaining the Olympic tradition and long-distance publicity event started in 1936

-- The three-sided design is symbolic of several Olympic triumvirates: "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (faster, higher, stronger, the Olympic motto), the three London Olympiads (1908, 1948, 2012) and Olympic values of respect, excellence and friendship. Though not spelled out in the LOCOG press release, the three-sides could also represent the three presenting sponsors of the 2012 Olympic torch relay: Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lloyds TSB.

-- The torch is made of an aluminum alloy (and Al is No. 13 on the periodic chart).

-- Sean Connery's age during the relay: 81 (please, oh, please, he'll carry the torch somewhere).

From my view, the London Olympic torch is a winner, and from a coolness factor, is closest in design to the 2006 Torino Olympic torch.

What do you think of the 2012 Olympic torch design?

Photos via LOCOG/Getty Images

Weekend Update

At work at Edelman, we've been cooking up something spectacular for a client, which is exhilarating and also keeping me busy sans blogging of late.

Catching up on some recent suggestions that hit this Olympic blogger's in box, here's a roundup of five-ringed briefs for consideration:

-- The U.S. Olympic Training Center now has a new Team USA Shop, which opened May 17 with Olympic gold medalist Curt Tomasevicz of bobsleigh signing autographs (see photo). Though it is good news there is a new shop, which I will frequent on future visits to the USOTC (my home for summer of 1995 internship), scanning the merchandise at the online shop reminds me how since the late 1980s the USOC's merch usually brought a cringe to my brow. From my view the folks who select the range of merchandise go too much for "mass appeal" while the items are plain and of moderate quality. How about some Made In The USA 100 percent cotton polo shirts with London 2012 logos, or some new creative on the lapel pins? I hope the shop's partnership with Staples Promotional Products will bring some new blood and new ideas.

-- Coca-Cola celebrated its 125th anniversary by donning its Midtown Atlanta skyscraper headquarters with fabric screens on which to project massive imagery from their iconic advertising. The effect was spectacular -- very cool to see from across the street and across town. Wishing they had seized the opportunity to project images from their Olympic partnerships since the 1928 Olympic Games (not a single Olympic connection was projected, from what I could tell).

-- It's not new news, but was reminded of rugby sevens as an addition to the Olympic roster for 2016, with Olympic rugby starting at Rio de Janiero. An interesting site that will help me learn more about rugby is WatchLiveRugbyWorldCup.com.

-- Not a fitness enthusiast myself, but for those who are, keep an eye open for LegacyChamp.com and their blog.

Photo via Team USA Shop/USOC