This Old Poker Book Sold For More Than You Might Think On Pawn Stars

Never judge a book by its cover. 

It's a good motto to live by in pretty much every aspect of your life, but it's particularly vital when looking at the pawn business, as evidenced on History's "Pawn Stars." The reality show follows the negotiators at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop as they come across all kinds of bizarre and valuable items from across history that would make "Antiques Roadshow" blush. Of course, the guys have to be careful, as they're ultimately running a business and need to make a profit. That means calling in an expert when they have any questions about the validity of an object, such as the soundtrack from "The Sting" that turned out to have fake autographs on it. 

Then again, every so often, the opposite occurs. Sometimes the guys look at an antique and assume it's a piece of junk, only for it to be worth some big bucks. That's precisely what happened on the Season 8 episode "Whoa Pilgrim" when a customer brought in an old poker book to the store to get it appraised by Chumlee. The book's pretty beat up, and Chumlee's ready to hand the guy a $20 bill, but that's when they both receive some pretty surprising news.

The book doesn't look like much, but Chumlee is quick to get the resident book expert on "Pawn Stars," Rebecca Romney, to get an official opinion. To his shock, she actually mentions that the book could fetch a pretty penny if it went up for sale, due to how old it is. The first recorded poker book dates back to 1858, and considering that this one was dated 1866, it would make for a nice piece in someone's collection. She says she would price it at around $2,000, which is incredibly good news for the seller. 

Granted, Chumlee doesn't pay that much, but he still ends up getting his hands on the book for $1,375. It should make for a nice payday for the Gold & Silver crew, as books tend to be hot commodities as featured throughout the series. The show also includes a moment where the crew purchases a book on alchemy for the hefty sum of $10,300. Even when an old copy of "Paradise Lost" comes into the store with extensive water damage, the guys are still willing to pay over $200 because there's even value there. 

Chumlee's come a long way on "Pawn Stars" over the years, and at least he made the right move by getting a second opinion in this case. He didn't have to get chewed out by Rick Harrison like after the time he spent too much on a flamethrower like he did in Season 16.