Do I seem like the kind of lady who'd go to a pawn shop with bars on every door and window? A place where there's a surveillance camera running day and night? I never thought I was, but as of yesterday, I am!
Actually, I've been quite curious about pawn shops since I started watching an American reality TV show called "Pawn Stars." It's a huge hit and it's lots of fun to watch. The gist of it is that there are four guys, a grandfather, his son, and his grandson--and a "village idiot" called Chumley. They own and work in a pawn shop in Las Vegas which, thanks to the TV show, is now the best-known one on the planet. The show has done a lot to demystify the pawn shop business for ordinary Americans who wouldn't normally even thnk of going into one.
Another thing that has humanized pawn shops, at least in the States, is the autobiography recently written by one of the stars of the show. It's called "License to Pawn" and the author (Rick Harrison) is the middle guy in the grandfather-father-son combination, that is to say, the father. "License to Pawn" gives fascinating insights into the world of pawning, buying and selling and it made the whole business seem, well, more approachable. I won't say "less sordid," because the author does tell exciting stories about the more seamy, less savory side of his business to make the book more readable. And by the way, it IS an interesting book, even if you haven't seen the TV show!
As I said before, I've never been in a pawn shop in my entire life and I certainly don't expect to ever have that experience in Malaysia. Why? Well, one reason is that they only deal in gold and gold jewelry (and I don't have much of that!) At least that's what it said in an interesting and very clear academic paper I just read on the Islamic pawn system in Malaysia. Surprisingly, such a system does legally exist, despite Shari'ah laws against usury (making an excessive profit on a loan). Evidently it's justified by the Islamic emphasis on helping the needy. There are those who might debate whether pawn shops actually do help the poor, but considering that the legal interest rate in Malaysia on a pawn shop loan is only 2 to 2.5%, maybe it's more humane than in the States. Incidentally, the paper also said that gold is the easiest thing for pawn shops to manage because it's small and easy to store. Plus, most Malaysians have some, even women, since they're often given gold jewelry when they marry and that gold jewelry remains their personal property.
On the other hand, evidently it's easy for a pawn shop owner to cheat unsuspecting customers when they bring in gold or gold jewelry. If it isn't weighed or measured properly and fairly when it comes into the shop, an unscrupulous owner could (and often do, apparently) make a profit by shaving small amounts of gold off or removing a few links from a gold chain. See how much I know about pawning in Malaysia now? You learn something new every day!
But I digress! This was supposed to be about my adventure in a pawn shop yesterday. The purpose was to have an old coin appraised, but the shop said they didn't have the expertise to do it and referred me to a rare coin dealer (who happened to be closed for the day, naturally.) But while we were in the pawn shop, my lady friend and I, she suggested that I get a new wedding ring that actually fits me. (I've been wearing my poor husband's ring because my own hasn't fitted ever since I jammed my ring finger against a wall a few months back.)
So from the depths of my handbag I produced a Ziplock snack bag and poured my odd collection of ill-fitting wedding rings out on the glass counter. There was my father's wedding ring, my original one that no longer fits and never will, a desperation hunk of junk that cost me US $4.95 and a wedding ring that doesn't belong in my life any more.
A few minutes later I pranced out of that pawn shop WITHOUT those unwanted rings from my dim and distant past and WITH a shiny new wedding band that actually fits. Oh, and with a nice little bonus bundle of cash because of the price difference between the two! Not bad for my first trip into a pawn shop, wouldn't you agree?
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