Gulfport , Mississippi ( CNN ) -- A man walks into a pawnshop in Gulfport , Mississippi . Others may bring guitars or a piece of jewelry , but this man has something special . It 's a 16th century blunderbuss from Japan . Kevin Riley , the owner of Dad 's Super Pawn , gingerly turned the 500-year-old weapon over in his hands , examining the antique with an expert eye . `` Wow that 's pretty cool , '' he said . Pawnshops are wonderlands of the obscure . In Dad 's there 's a jersey signed by cast members of TV 's `` Sopranos '' that was picked up from a rabid fan , a guitar made from a toilet seat that was sold to the store by a band member down on his luck and a script from TV 's original `` Dukes of Hazzard . '' `` We paid pretty good money for it because it was unique , '' Riley said of the script . `` I honestly do n't think it 's a seller , it 's just a conversation piece . '' There 's always a lot to talk about in a pawnshop . Every item has a story . You can tell a lot about the health of a community based on the items people are selling . There is a glut of power tools on the shelves , speaking to a lack of new construction in Gulfport . Hurricane Katrina , the Great Recession and now the Gulf oil disaster have battered the town 's economy . More first-time pawners are coming to the shop and they 're bringing with them the mementos of better days , said Riley . `` We 've been seeing a lot more high-end jewelry , one- , two- , three-carat diamonds , '' he said . `` Stuff that people bought when the economy was booming and are now having to sell . '' Mississippi 's middle-class have become new customers . Pawnbrokers are often portrayed in the media as fencers of stolen property , predatory lenders or simply people who prey on folks who are down on their luck . The current economy is changing these stereotypes , according to Riley . `` The average person pawning stuff right now ... is the blue-collar guy out there working and trying to make ends meet , '' he said . `` Right now the job market is terrible and there are a lot of people not working , so in order to feed the family they 've got to get some money . '' The owner of the Japanese rifle said he 'd been offered $ 4,000 for the gun . Riley politely told him that he needed to do some research before he would commit to buying it . `` Similar guns are selling for between $ 400 and $ 2,000 , but I need to make sure that it 's not a replica , '' said Riley . Riley said he 's been successful in the pawnbroker business by being not only shrewd , but also fair with his clients , some of whom have been coming to him for years . A regular customer can expect to make slightly more on a sale or pawn then someone just walking in off the street , he said . `` We 're not in the power tool business or the musical instrument business , we 're in the people business ... 99 percent of our customers are good people , they 're just not money managers , '' said Riley . `` That 's their biggest problem . They do n't know how to sit down with a budget because it was never taught to them . ''
Gulf pawnshop reports more middle-class clients in wake of oil spill . Shop 's unique items include toilet-seat guitar , `` Dukes of Hazzard '' script , `` Sopranos '' shirt . `` We 're seeing a lot more high-end jewelry , '' says owner . Recession is changing stereotypes often linked to pawnshops , he says .