During the Middle Ages, certain usury laws imposed by the Church
prohibited the charging of interest on loans, thus limiting pawnbroking to
people who had religious beliefs outside of the Church. Out of economic
necessity, and because of problems in the banking system, pawnshops made a
resurgence in later years. The House of the Lombard operated pawnshops
throughout Europe. Legend contends that they even counted royalty, such as King
Edward III of England, among their clientele during the 14th century. The symbol
of the Lombards' operations was the three gold balls that still remain the
trademark.
Queen Isabella of Spain pawned the crown jewels to
finance Columbus' voyage to America. The word pawn originates from the Latin
word 'patinum' which means cloth or clothing. The French word 'pan' refers to a
skirt or blouse. In the early centuries, the principle assets people had were
their clothes and borrowed money by pawning their clothing.
The universal symbol of pawnbroking is three gold
balls and is one of the most easily recognized in the world. The Medici families
in Italy along with the Lombards in England were moneylenders in Europe. Legend
has it that one of the Medicis in the employ of Emperor Charles the Great fought
a giant and slew him with three sacks of rocks. The three balls or globes later
became part of their family crest, and ultimately, the sign of pawnbroking.
Throughout history, pawnbrokers have been helping
people. The Bible offers references to pawnbroking, and in Deuteronomy 24:6-13
it states: 'No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge, for
he taketh a man's life to pledge'. What this means is: you should not take as a
pledge anything a man needs to make a living. The same chapter also says: 'Thou
shalt not go into his house to fetch the pledge. Thou shalt stand abroad and the
man to whom thou dost lend shall bring the pledge…unto thee.' Interestingly,
often the debtor's children could be used as a pledge (2 Kings,4:1-7). Also in
Deuteronomy 23:21 the people were told not to take interest from their own
countrymen - only from foreigners.
According to ancient
Mesopotamian law, the rates of interest charged - even in those days - were 20%
for silver, and 33% for grain.
The moneychangers of Jesus'
time served two purposes. First they exchanged Antiochian Tetradrachms for the
local currency (shekels), exacting a fee between 4% and 8% for their services.
Second, they functioned as bankers and lenders. In the well-known Gospel story,
Jesus overturned their tables because he didn't feel the gates of the Temple
were the right place to be conducting that business. In fact, such moneychangers
set up shop there as a service, to deal with people who came to pay their
half-shekel Temple tax. The rabbis insisted it be paid in silver didrachms of
Tyre, which nobody carried.