Rich Americans Forced to Pawn Their Fancy Wine

Rich Americans are now feeling the economic pain just like broke Americans, except instead of mourning the end of Subway's $2 sandwich deal and buying Groupons to IHOP, they're pawning their collections of '89 Petrus. Yes, it seems pawnbrokers are seeing more and more wine collections these days, and they're paying out chunks of change for them. That case of '89 Petrus? According to Reuters, it got its owner $24,000, and 128 bottles of Chateau d'Yquem netted $120,000. According to one pawnbroker, the dollar amount is usually "70 percent of the value of the wines."

What's next, rich Americans? Buying desserts that don't have diamonds on them? Switching from the 1% burger to the 99% burger? When will our national nightmare end?

· Pawnshops For Prosperous Accept Wine as Collateral [Reuters]
· All Broke Americans Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Rich Americans Coverage on Eater [-E-]