About
The History of Pawn
Ancient Rome (~449BC-529AD)
“Contractus pigneratitius”: The ancient Roman empire was no stranger to pawn loans, although they referred to it as a “Contractus pigneratitius”, or a loan secured by a pledge. Pawns have been an important part of helping the common person for over 2000 years and across all countries in the world.
Ancient China
482 AD: Chinese Prime Minister Ch’u YuAn, having pawned several items, passes away. His younger brother Ch’eng recovers his pledged goods which include a fur pillow. Ch’eng has this pillow cut up to make items for himself. Unfortunately for him it turns out the pillow had been a gift from the Emperor so Ch’eng is impeached and dismissed in 483. Ooops.
Source: Buddhist Monasteries and the Four Money-Raising Institutions In Chinese History
Middle Ages
1388 AD: Even royalty have their cash flow problems. King Edward III pawned the crown jewels to finance a war with France.
1464 AD: Two Franciscan monks named Barnabo da Terni and Fortunato Coppoli founded the first modern vision of a pawnshop. Conceived as a charitable organization it provided collateral secured loans to the public interest free so long as you tithed regularly to the church.
1492 AD: Christopher Columbus struggles to raise funding for his voyage of discovery. A longtime supporter Queen Isabella of Spain offers to pawn her crown jewels to finance Columbus’ voyage to America if the treasury ran short. That probably would have been the most influential loan in history.
The Renaissance
1595 AD: Renaissance Europe didn’t have reality TV, but they did have the theatre. Famed playright William Shakespeare frequently discusses pawning items ranging from the royal crown (Richard II) to serving ware and furnishings (King Henry IV).
1598 AD: Ben Johnson pens ‘Every Man in His Humor‘. It mentions pawning no less than 11 times in relation to clothes, jewelry and even a rapier:
Bob. Pawn! we have none to the value of his demand.
Mat. O, yes; I’ll pawn this jewel in my ear, and you may pawn your silk stockings, and pull up your boots, they will ne’er be mist: it must be done now.
1800's
1842-1852 AD: William Booth works as a pawnbroker before going on to found the SALVATION ARMY. True story.
1853 AD: Did you know many experts believe the nursery rhyme “Pop Goes The Weasel” is about pawning? In early England, the word ‘Pop’ meant to pawn. ‘Weasel’ is short for ‘Weasel and Stoat’ which is cockney rhyming slag for ‘Coat’. The rhyme talks about pawning a coat to meet common expenses:
A penny for a ball of thread
Another for a needle
That’s the way the money goes
pop goes the weasel.
In Canada
1867: Canada is founded, but pawnshops were here first! Yes, Canada’s oldest pawnshop opened 7 years before we existed as a country.
Modern Times
1932: The Hope Diamond, one of the world’s most famous and valuable diamonds in the world spent some time in a pawnbroker’s vault. Heiress Evalyn Walsh McLean pledged the diamond to help finance the search for the missing child of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh.
1971: Diane von Furstenberg the famed fashion designer financed her company by pawning her wedding ring. Her current estimated net worth is 1.2 BILLION dollars (2013).
2009: History TV airs the first episode of Pawnstars(TM). The show is a smash hit pulling down as many as 7.5 million viewers. There are now well over 200 episodes and it’s one of the highest rated reality TV shows.
