It's the highest rated show on the History Channel. It is, of
course, scripted -- the production
company pre screens the people and stuff that gets on the show. The
production company even has
advertised seeking neat items nationwide, with free travel to Las
Vegas for the right stuff.

The people coming in with stuff who end up on the TV show almost
surely get an appearance fee in
the $100 to $500 range, but they are not supposed to divulge that.

A comedy writer suggests appropriate insults. It is filmed in the
real store, Rick will
answer the phone if you call.

They are on ebay at http://stores.ebay.com/Gold-and-Silver-Pawn-Shop

As the manager of a coin and jewelry store for 10 years in the 1990s
many of the situations are
familiar, such as people who have convinced themselves that an obvious
fake is real, or thinking
that if an item is worth $1000 retail, that a store is going to PAY
them $1000.