Pawn Shops can be tracked all the way back to China in the 5Th Century, when Buddist monks make loans to customers and required collateral for the term of the loan. It was said in old England King Charles made the statement that pawnbrokers were not to be trusted and therefore this allowed the King to start his own pawn brokerage business and earn interest and put the individual pawn shops out of business.
The most famous pawn loan in history is probably when Queen Isabella pawned her jewels to fund Columbus’s voyage to the new year. Pawn brokerage for the past 100 years has been looked down on as business that only misfits and outcasts of society would venture into.
Today, the pawnshop industry is considered one of the top business’s in America to won or invest in. A growth rate of 18% per year makes it a profitable venture to consider. Reality TV shows on the history channel such as “Pawn Stars”, “Hard Core Pawn” and “Cajun Pawn” has brought the industry out of the closet and into main stream America.