Talk:Pawnbroker

Medici …

 * The three-ball symbol may be indirectly attributed to the Medici family of Florence, Italy, owing to its symbolic meaning in heraldry.

Which is what?


 * This refers to the Italian region of Lombardy[further explanation needed], where pawn shop banking originated under the name of Lombard banking. … According to legend, a Medici employed by Charlemagne slew a giant using three bags of rocks. The three-ball symbol became the family crest. …

The Medici shield (not "crest") has six red balls, thought to represent pills as a pun on the name. (The top one was later changed to bear the arms of the king of France, as a mark of his favor.) (The crest was first a dog and later a falcon, according to Rietstap. Crests are often omitted from display in Latin countries.) —Tamfang (talk) 17:00, 13 July 2023 (UTC)

Pawning's "3,000 year history in China"
The claim that "pawnbroking can be traced back at least 3,000 years to ancient China" on this article appears to have originated on a Pawn Shop's website from over 20 years ago... not exactly a reliable source. It looks like this claim been repeated by a few other sources, most notably the History Channel's website.

It does look like a source states that there was some pawn shop in a Buddhist monastery, and that lending money with interest dates back to the fourth century in China. But that's definitely not 3,000 years either way. Can anyone else confirm the 3,000 year claim? LittleCuteSuit (talk) 21:16, 6 January 2024 (UTC)

3 balls hanging in Pawn shop meaning?
Pawn shop 3 Balls on Pawn shop meaning? 2603:6010:7700:69:F5B8:53F2:2ABF:F284 (talk) 06:37, 6 July 2024 (UTC)