Meet Bud Adcock: Teds Pawn Native American Jewelry

Meet Bud Adcock the owner of Ted’s Pawn in Gallup, New Mexico. Bud explains how old pawn shops near Native American lands are more like trading posts or banks. Teds pawn works directly with Native American artists and carries a variety of authentic Native jewelry, rugs, pottery, dolls and other art. Visit Ted’s pawn and meet Bud at 412 W Maloney Ave. Gallup, NM 87301.

“My name’s Bud Adcock and I’m one of the owners at Ted’s Pawn & Jewelry. Ted’s Pawn is at 412 W Maloney in Gallup, New Mexico. It started back in the 1960’s. In 1974 I was up here for Christmas and I had two brothers-in-law, both partners in here. One wanted out, so I bought him out in 1975. Then I bought out my second brother-in-law in 1990. When I first started here, the pawnshop was about 800 sq. ft. and now it’s pretty close to 8,000 sq. ft.

I notice you have a lot of Native American blankets, rugs, art and jewelry and you seem to be very closely connected to the Native American art and culture.

“Out here in this part of the country, it’s a way of life. It’s tradition that is disappearing. The younger people don’t wear as much jewelry as older [Native American folk], because the young kids are into electronics and video games. It’s changing.

But they still use trade as a form of currency.

“Sure, they get paid a couple times a month. If they run short on money, they can come in and pawn. It’s a reasonable price that is comparable with the banks.

How is your pawn business in Gallup, New Mexico different from pawnshops in inner cities?

“Compared to the bigger cities, it’s a lot different. I’ve seen 2 or 3 generations of families come back here. Treat everyone how you’d like to be treated and they’ll be customers for life. They use it more as a bank than they do a pawnshop.

What do you mean by that?

“They’ll bring [jewelry] in and it will be safe. We have a few people coming in every week looking for stolen merchandise. We have alarm systems and things like that so we don’t have a problem.”

– Bud Adcock, Owner of Ted’s Pawn in Gallup, NM