Retro Items to Look for at Pawn Shops

The allure of days gone by attract consumers to the things of yesteryear, which explains why so many individuals are drawn to antique sales, estate auctions, and retro items. Part of the fun of being an antique collector is finding great resources where you can get your hands on vintage items. Sometimes, the places to shop for certain antiques are not so obvious.

Pawn shops are great places to find antiques. Deep inside of pawn stores across the country, you can discover some pretty awesome old things. Check out some of the retro items to look for in a pawn shop.

Music Memorabilia and Instruments

Valuable first-edition albums, autographed pictures, and even antique musical instruments are highly prized items in the eyes of a specialized collector. These music-industry-related items are common to find in pawn shops. Even if a shop doesn’t have specialized albums and autographed items, many shops commonly offer a collection of musical instruments and equipment.

Vintage Jewelry Pieces

Vintage jewelry is perhaps one of the most commonly sought-after items in pawn shops, since most of these stores do take just about any jewelry on pawn or buy pieces straight out. Whether you are a collector of certain vintage jewelry pieces or are simply amassing a wide collection, there are certain jewelry items to look for in a shop, such as:

When family members inherit a collection of vintage jewelry they do not want or need, these items commonly end up being sold or pawned off. Therefore, you can often find a great selection of vintage jewelry pieces at a pawn shop.

Sports Memorabilia

One of the most expensive pieces of sports memorabilia ever taken in by the Pawn Stars Gold and Silver Pawn Shop was a 2001 Super Bowl ring, which has a value of $60,000. While 2001 may not be quite antique or vintage enough for your tastes as a sports memorabilia collector, there are plenty of other items out there to discover.

The most common type of sports memorabilia you will find in a pawn shop is collector's cards and items of that nature. You may very well happen upon something like a signed baseball or a team jersey worn by your favorite player if you're lucky. Sports memorabilia is a popular market, so pawn shop owners usually have a few items.

Vintage Electronics

Electronics are commonly pawned, but beyond the typical laptops and car stereos that come to mind when you think of electronics, you can also find antique electronics at some shops. A few examples of old electronics you may find in a pawn shop include:

Old video game equipment is another good example of vintage electronics that collectors are often after. Not only can you find valuable game consoles like original Atari systems, but you may also come across old games for those retro consoles. Some old Atari games are really rare and valuable, such as Air Raid that has a value of $2,933.83, just for the loose game.

While it may be fun to scour antique shops and estate sales for vintage collectibles, never discount the value of looking for cool, retro things at a pawn shop. You never know what cool and valuable things you might find at your local shop. To find out more about the vintage antique collectibles you could find at a pawn shop, reach out to us at 2 J's Pawn & Gun.