In 1981, Harrison’s father launched his first charity shop when the family moved to Las Vegas. On Las Vegas Boulevard, the first Gold & Silver Coin Shop was a 300-square-foot hole in the wall. He repossessed autos at night. The business transferred to a greater location in Las Vegas’s downtown in 1986. sadly, the Harrisons’ lease on that location expired in 1988.

After that, they transferred the store to a brand-new business complex on Las Vegas Boulevard. For many years, Harrison and his father had discussed turning the coin store into a pawnshop. It looked like the logical next step for the business. That was made more difficult, though, by a 1955 ordinance in Las Vegas that limited the number of new licenses that could be issued to pawn shops according to the population of the city.

The larger metro area around Las Vegas had around 640,000 residents by 1988. Every week, Harrison would make a call to the city’s statistician to enable them to apply for one of the coveted pawn licenses in the city, which can be obtained only when Las Vegas’s population reaches a particular threshold. Following that event in 1989, the Harrisons were given their pawn license. Harrison and his father launched the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on the Las Vegas Strip the same year. The shop was co-owned by them until the passing of his father in 2018.

By 2005, Harrison and his father were lending out close to $3 million annually. As a result, the Harrisons’ revenue from loan interest amounted to almost $700,000. By 2006, the pawnshop had established a solid reputation for offering rare sports collectibles. It served as a refuge for gamblers who had to pawn anything to buy gas so they could return to their starting point.

After his pawnshop was featured in a PBS documentary in 2001 and on the hit Comedy Central show Insomniac with Dave Attell in 2003, Harrison spent four years promoting the idea of a television show about his business.

Before the History Channel came calling and transformed the concept into the show Pawn Stars, which is currently the highest-rated on the History Channel, the idea was tossed around on YouTube and HBO.

Since its July 2009 premiere, Pawn Stars has aired for 21 seasons and 633 episodes as of June 2023. By far the most-watched program on The History Channel is Pawn Stars. History is renewing the show in batches of 80 episodes since it is so successful, which is very unusual for any television program, much less a reality series.

Rick’s son Corey Harrison, who works in the business now, appears on the episode with Austin “Chumlee” Russell, who was his boyhood closest buddy. Rick is known on the show as “The Spotter” because to his excellent sense of worth in objects.