Middle-earth pawn shops
 

Pawn shops to me are very interesting. Many contain pieces of junk that no one wants but there is always that one special treasure in each store. And since I love Middle Earth I wonder if there are pawn shops there. Middle-Earth has plenty of inns and taverns but, to my knowlege, no pawns shops. So maybe across the street from the prancing pony their was a little store named "Goatleaf's Pawn Shop: We Buy Silver and Gold". But another interesting question is: what would people bring in to sell? Say some guy comes in and tells the owner, "This here is the Old Took's first pipe in mint condition shape." Or someone lays a sword on the counter and says, "Right here is the sword of Egalmoth, Lord of Gondolin!"
So does anyone else think that there may have been pawn shops in middle-earth and if you do what interesting items would come through the doors.

Goatleaf claimed to have Helm Hammerhand's original brass knuckles, but they were determined by Gandalf to in fact have been Aldor the Old's bronzed dental plates.

Some dwarves pawned off the Arkenstone and the Nauglamír there a week before Mr. Underhill came to town. They traded it all for 15 silver coins a a few copper plates.

Needless to say, you can't really take everything they have in that shop at face value.

I hear that someone tried to sell Goatleaf the blade of Andúril. The nerve of some people.

ecthelion spoke: [And since I love Middle Earth I wonder if there are pawn shops there... and if you do what interesting items would come through the doors]
Yeah, they're called "Museums" or "Mathom-houses" in the Shire. ;)
Or, the items are simply given away as birthday-presents negating the need for pawn shops altogether. Elsewhere in Middle-earth they're "heirlooms" or whatever words in Dale or Rohan that were related to "mathom".