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A Brief History of Pawn Brokers
Pawnbroking is said to be one of the oldest trades in the world.
pawn brokers can be traced back
to over 3000 years ago, and has evolved with the times, still
strong in today's market. In this
article we look back over the history of pawn broking and
pawnbrokers to see how they have
stayed so popular through the ages.
The ancient history of pawnbrokers can be traced back to China.
Even then in the early days the
organisation was heavily regulated with long redemption times
and maximum interest rates.
Examples and evidence of pawn broking industry has been located
in ancient Greece, Italy,
Bavaria, France and England, dating from Roman times to the
Middle Ages.
The long history of the business has lead to pawn broking having
their own patron saint, Saint
Nicolas. This busy saint is also the patron saint of children,
sailors, fishermen, broadcasters and
archers, among others.
According to the National Association of Pawnbrokers in the UK
pawn brokers is partly
responsible for the discovery of the Americas. It is said that
the voyage of the Nina, Pinta, and
Santa Maria were funded in large part by pawning jewels
belonging to Queen Isabella of Spain.
Around the same time the Medici family helped to transform
pawnbrokers into the trade we know
today. The now universal symbol of the pawnbroker can be
accredited to them, being symbolic of
Lombardy, the Italian province where pawn broking was first
thought to have been established.
The success of the Medici family in banking and money lending
led to other families andbusinesses adopting the symbol.
According to the National Association of Pawnbrokers in the UK
pawn brokers is partly
responsible for the discovery of the Americas. It is said that
the voyage of the Nina, Pinta, and
Santa Maria were funded in large part by pawning jewels
belonging to Queen Isabella of Spain.
Around the same time the Medici family helped to transform
pawnbrokers into the trade we know
today. The now universal symbol of the pawnbroker can be
accredited to them, being symbolic of
Lombardy, the Italian province where pawn broking was first
thought to have been established.
The success of the Medici family in banking and money lending
led to other families and
businesses adopting the symbol.
Come the late 19th and early 20th centuries there were
reportedly almost as many pawn shops
existing in Britain as there were pubs.
According to the National Association of Pawnbrokers in the UK
pawn brokers is partly
responsible for the discovery of the Americas. It is said that
the voyage of the Nina, Pinta, and
Santa Maria were funded in large part by pawning jewels
belonging to Queen Isabella of Spain.
Around the same time the Medici family helped to transform
pawnbrokers into the trade we know
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By the 1970s the pawn broking business was teetering on the
edge, with a negative reputation to
boot. The lack of regulation of the trade through the last few
hundred years led to 'cowboy'
pawnbroking giving bad deals to those in need of their services
and reducing the number of
potential customers willing to do business with them.
Since the credit boom time of the 1980s pawnbrokers have enjoyed
far better success, with better
regulation came a much improved reputation, and with the boom,
unfortunately came the bust
that has left many in need of the services pawnbrokers offer.
Pawn broking today offer a quick
and secure means to lend money when you need it most, giving
access to money in minutes
when banks may have declined.
Click here to visit our website.
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