Fans of “Pawn Stars” are shocked by Old Man Richard Harrison’s last wish before he died

The Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on the edge of Las Vegas has been run by Richard “Old Man” Harrison and his family for many years.

He was 77 years old when he died in 2018. In his will, he gave the business to his son Rick and made one last request that really surprised fans of the show.

Before the 1950s, pawning was a common way for people to get credit in the United States. Still, there are pawnshops all over the place that help people get by.

Pawn Stars is a TV show.
There is always an expert who can help you pawn a gold watch, old autographs, or a sword.

And since we’re talking about experts, maybe the best way to learn about the colourful world of pawning is to visit the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Harrison family has been running the shop for a long time. Through the reality show Pawn Stars, they have even become famous.

In 1988, Richard Benjamin “The Old Man” Harrison opened a pawn shop on the edge of Las Vegas called Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. But how did he even get there to begin with?

Richard Harrison was born in Lexington, North Carolina, on March 4, 1941. In the beginning of his life, he and his family didn’t have much, but he went on to become very wealthy.

Life of Richard “Old Man” Harrison
In his 2011 autobiography, License to Pawn: Deals, Steals, and My Life at the Gold & Silver, Harrison’s son Rick wrote, “They were dirt-poor white trash, left to survive mostly on their wits.”

Richard “Old Man” Harrison got his first job when he was 14. He drove a school bus. He made about $6 a week doing that job.

Then, when he was 17 years old, he was caught stealing a car. He could either go to jail or join the military, the judge told him.

Richard went into the army. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1958, and during his time there, he went to many different places on four different ships. In an interview, he said that his favourite ports were in Spain, specifically Barcelona and Madrid. Before he left the navy in 1979, he worked for five years on a small ship called a “fleet tug.”