History of the Pawn Industry

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Pawnbroking dates back thousands of years as mankind’s oldest financial institution.

Princes, paupers, popes and kings borrowed money based on collateral, long before sophisticated banking systems existed. Historical source documents trace pawn loans to early Mesopotamia, ancient China as well as early Greek and Roman civilizations. Christopher Columbus’ voyage to the New World is reported to have been funded by Queen Isabella’s pawned, royal jewels.

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