Pawn Me Up, Pawn Me Down

From California: Year of the hock .

Ray Ellis, owner of Escondido Coin and Loan pawnshop, is used to customers coming in with rare or collectible coins for one of the four-month loans that is the industry standard.

Recently, customers have been seeking larger amounts, up to $50,000, Ellis said. He said one gentleman came in with a sack of gold coins in order to pay off debts on his investment properties in Orange County

But the credit crunch and economic turmoil is sending bigger fish their way.

Irene Longoria, store manager of the Oceanside Gems N’ Loans, said her shop is pricing all kinds of jewelry items as customers seek collateral for loans, or sell them outright. Belly rings, tongue rings, single earrings, dental grills and gold teeth are being brought in.

New customers are finding out a lot more than they bargained for at their local pawnshop. Martin said a woman recently expected hundreds if not thousands of dollars for the diamond ring she received as a gift, only to find out it was zirconium.

“She said, ‘It’s a diamond,’ and I said, ‘It’s not,’” Martin recalled. “Then she said, ‘That son of a b… !’”

One man came straight from the dentist, with gauze still in his mouth and blood on the tooth, she said.

“We just about screamed,” Longoria said. “I told him he should have cleaned it first. We’re seeing more and more dental scrap. We now have latex gloves to handle some of the things coming in.”