Pawn shops taking wine as collateral

PHOENIX - Pawn shops never have a shortage of the number of characters bringing in interesting things to sell.

"I've had people sell me prosthetic limbs, I've had people sell me gold teeth, I've had people sell me wine," said Byron Vaughn, store manager for Mo Money Pawn Shop.

Interestingly enough, wine is becoming a common form of collateral in many states. Mo Money falls in to that category as well.

"Our store motto is we carry anything of value," said Vaughn. "Wine is valuable. There are bottles that go for $500 a bottle, or even $25,000 a bottle."

And it is easy to see how keeping that wine could become an investment as many vintages only get more valuable with age.

The only wine Mo Money has on hand is a collectible bottle of "Marilyn Merlot". Basically, that's a bottle of merlot with a picture of Marilyn Monroe on the front. Some bottles like it can go for $1,000.

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