Marc Serafino
If you are strapped for cash, you may decide to pawn a few items, which means providing something of value as collateral for a cash loan. Pawn shops will take any number of items, but they have their preferences — those are the items they will be able to quickly sell in case you fail to return them cash. Here are…
Top 7 Items to Pawn
In no particular order, here are the items that will be gladly accepted by most pawn shops.
1. Jewelry
No surprises here. Jewelry, especially gold and silver, is accepted in just about any pawnshop. Owners of these places want to get their hands on your precious-metal rings, bracelets and necklaces; they know if you can’t pay them back, they can easily sell your stuff for good ol’ cash.
2. Coins and currency
Another non-surprise. Collectors are notorious for their frequent visits to pawnshops to find rare currency for their own and other people’s collections. The market is strong, especially for U.S. collectible coins, silver dollars and silver certificates, gold coins, half-dollars, American Eagles, old Federal Reserve Notes, and rare paper money.
3. Anything rare or with historical value
Speaking of rare things… In many cases, pawn shops double as antique stores, and they will gladly take anything old that has a value for some collector — and they usually know a lot of them. It is even better if the item in question also has a historic value that could make it valuable to an even wider audience. So before bringing it to a local pawnshop, make sure to read about the item you want to pawn — so you can get more money in return.
4. Valuable electronics
And by this we mean relatively large TVs, newer gaming systems, digital cameras, tablets, laptops, and pretty much everything made by Apple. As long as the device you want to pawn works and you also happen to have the original box along with all the cables and instructions, you can expect to get a decent money for it. Just make sure the device is fully charged (if it has a battery) so it could be tested while in the store.
5. Power tools
Whether we’re talking about battery- or gas-powered products, the market of secondhand power tools is huge and pawnshops know what to do with it if you fail to repay the loan. Like that’s the case with electronics, make sure that the battery is charged or there is enough gas to start the power tool you want to pawn — they will want to test it before offering you a single dime. In addition, you’ll want to clean it before bringing the power tool to the pawnshop to get that “good as new” look and feel and, consequently, a better deal.
6. Musical Instruments
Topping the list of most wanted musical instruments are guitars — both acoustic and electric — along with amplifiers. That being said, all other instruments could find their place at a pawnshop, as well. These include bass, trumpets, drums, cymbals, flutes, violins, pianos, and more. Pretty much if an item can produce a sound — you can pawn it.
7. Guns
For better or worse, guns are something many pawnshops will gladly take. There are some rules here, and in order to pawn a gun — you will have to be a registered owner of the weapon. Also, some shops will only accept antique guns, or they might have restrictions against automatic weapons. So you better ask before bringing your gun to the store.
Anything else?
What’s your experience with pawn shops? Have you tried to pawn something? Is there some other product category you think should be on this list? If so — we want to hear about it. Do let us know in the comments below. Or send as an email. Thanks.
Finally, we want to suggest you an alternative to pawning stuff for cash — take a second job. And we have few of those listed on this page, so check ’em out.
