[music playing] RICK: So I'm down
here in LA with Chum. And we're about to go take a
look at this huge collection of old steel printing plates. And I have a feeling they're
going to be really heavy. So that's the real reason
why I brought Chum. [laughs] You want me to carry it all? That's why you brought me? I got a bad back. CHUMLEE: Jeez, Rick. Hey, how's it going, man? ADAM: All right. How are you doing? Sorry we're late. I had to eat lunch twice. That's OK. Here it is. That's a lot of metal plates. Holy [bleep]. So these are all the printing
plates from the American Banknote Company? ADAM: That is correct. The plates were used in
printing stock certificates, currency, stamps-- pretty much anything. Can I open one of these up? Yeah, go ahead
and open one up. I mean, have these been
cataloged or anything? ADAM: No. They've been here
for several months. Chum, see, like,
they have this currency thing on the front of them? Let's go print
some money, boys. [laughs] ADAM: I have plates and
rollers from the American Banknote Company. I've collected coins and
currencies my whole life, as long as I can remember. And then the printing
talked to me a lot because my entire family has
been in the printing business for three generations. So it was just interesting
to me from a lot of different perspectives. RICK: This is pretty amazing. ADAM: The American Banknote
Company was founded in 1795 by Robert Scott, who was
the original engraver for the United States Mint. They have engraved and printed
stocks, bonds, currencies. RICK: Yeah, they were
printing currency for tons of different countries. Just about every bond
certificate for the United States was printed by them. They had the printing
technology where it was really, really difficult
to counterfeit their stuff. ADAM: Right. And they're just
out of business now. And you just--
- No. They're--
- They're still in business? ADAM: --still in business today. The currencies are
a lot different now. And stocks and bonds
are traded digitally. So they just, like, sold off
all their old metal plates? ADAM: Yes, they did. And here, you're looking at it. There's a ton of people
that this could appeal to. You have currency
collectors who would buy it, bond collectors
who would buy it. And if you have anything
specific to certain companies, it could be collectible. So it's all for
sale though, right? ADAM: Absolutely. I can pick through it. It's not an all or
nothing deal, right? Well, I'd like to do the
whole thing in one deal. But I'll tell you what. Once you get in there
start picking some things and if there's some
things of interest, we can talk about that
and open that door. OK. Cool. Um, I'm going to call a
buddy down here to help me too if you don't mind. ADAM: Don't mind at all. RICK: I'm going to start
digging through this. You call Peter, and then
come back and help me. All right. I'll be right back. RICK (VOICEOVER): So we're
here at a printing museum. And they're actually going
to take these steel plates, and put them in a press,
and print something. Can you just, like, show me
the process of how to do this? Oh, certainly. Can you print this one? ADAM: We can print that. All right. Who doesn't love
a good train image? RICK: So if everything looks
good, maybe I can make a deal. [laughs] Are you ready?
RICK: I'm ready. Yeah, yeah Let's check it out. Well, step on over
to our printing press. So first, we're going
to work the ink. It's actually a very
specialized ink. It's very dense, very heavy. What-- our first
step to do here is actually to get the ink
into those small crevices in the plate. RICK: OK. And while this is
happening, our paper is actually in the
process of getting softened in a bucket of water. CHUMLEE: Wow. So we're inked up. Now Mike, my master printer,
is going to take the next step here to get the
ink off the surface and then leave the ink
in those reservoirs. So now you can see the train. CHUMLEE: You should
just leave it like that. Yeah. Now we're going to get
that into the press. RICK: Oh, this is very cool. So next, we're going
to get the paper. CHUMLEE: Quick question--
do you have the paper they used to print money on? Well, I can tell
you who makes it. It's actually one of the
oldest companies in the nation. It's Crane's Paper. I'll be ordering
from them tonight. Yeah. Well, they also have
a good mailing list. And guess who sees
their mailing lists-- the Secret Service. The key is getting this
started with the felts, allowing for the pressure. RICK: Whoa. That's incredible. This is absolutely amazing. I had no idea it
would look like this. Well, thanks, man. I really, really
appreciate this. I never thought
printing was art. It is definitely--
it's an art and a craft. Enjoy it. RICK: All right. So you're asking 4,500 and-- CHUMLEE: I think
that's steal, Rick. RICK: Um, so you're still
good at 4,500 bucks? I think 4,500
is a good number. You get the opportunity
of the printings. And that can go wherever
you want to take it. It's unlimited. I guess we have a deal. This is absolutely fabulous. I, um-- now I've just
got to hire this guy. [laughter] [music playing] I'll go to my truck.
And I'll write you a check. - OK.
- Come on. All right. This is a really cool place. Yeah, it is. RICK: Chum. I'll be a few minutes, Rick.
