...on television. In last night's episode the boss (not the old man) purchased a book autographed by Shoeless Joe Jackson for $13,000 without getting the signature authenticated by a respected appraiser. The seller had a CoA that was done by an unknown appraiser. The seller knew the value of a RARE Shoeless Joe autograph because he knew he was illiterate thus asking $30K for the book. He settled for $13K--and that should have been a red flag. Pawn Stars boss wasn't sure about the CoA and said off screen that he didn't want the seller to leave the store and possibly lose a $100K book to another buyer. Now, he preaches to his son and Chumly that always, always get uncertain items authenticated before purchasing. After purchasing the book he then went to his usual signature appraiser and he was told that in her opinion the signature was not legit. He later received a consensus opinion that the signature was a forgery.

That episode forced me to opine that once in a while Pawn Stars purposely steps on IT with their golf shoes to make us all believe they are not infallible. I can't believe that he threw away $13K; better yet, I refuse to believe he threw away $13K on the blind. And that's my story and I'm sticking to it!!