A nickname the late radio legend Don Imus gave himself many years ago because he was born with three testicles instead of the usual complement was “Tres Huevos.” I may be a little unobservant, but I seem to be seeing fewer and fewer pawnshops around New York City these days, so a brilliantly colored vinyl ad for a former pawnshop at East 24th Street and 3rd Avenue caught my attention, and I’m showing it here in advance of an upcoming 24th Street Crosstown page (though when it will actually appear, I’m not sure yet).
This traditional symbol originated in the Middle Ages in the Italian province of Italy, where pawnshop banking originated and practitioners suspended three gold spheres, supposedly imitative of gold coins, above their shops. The symbol came to be associated with the Medici family, which adopted it as their family crest.
A shared workspace called Gran Merci (we are close to Gramercy Park) now occupies the space, and they have vouchsafed to leave the former business’ signs up, which has been a trend for awhile in the hipper parts of town (as Gramercy Park may be evolving into).
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