Santa Clarita Pawnshop

The following is a bit of helpful information on the history of our industry. In addition to acting as a business, pawnshop may also act as a charitable organization. For example, the Monte de Piedad effort started in the City of Perugia in Italy in 1450.  The originators were the Orden de Menores Observantes de San Francisco (roughly translated “Order of Little Observers of Saint Francisco”). This information is provided to you by your Santa Clarita Pawnshop, Valencia Loan Company.

Their purpose was to give monitory aid to individuals with by lending them money without charging them interest. The loans were secured by the pawned goods. Rather than charging them interest, the ones who borrowed the money were encouraged to donate to the local Church.

This practice spread throughout the country of Italy and on into various parts of the European continent. The first charitable pawnshop in Span started in Madrid. The concept spread to New Spain by the Knight of Calatrava and Count of Santa Maria de Regla named Pedro Romero de Terreros. There is also a charitable pawn shop with offices in Mexico City, Mexico, named “The Nacional Monte de Piedad.” It is located adjacent to Zocalo, which is the main plaza in the City. It originated in about 1774 when launched by Pedro Romero de Terreros. His purpose was to offer loans with no or low interest to the less fortunate members of society. In 1927 the organization was accepted as a national charity by the government of Mexico. The institution exists today and is one of the fastest growing such operations and has over 150 branches nationwide. The goal is to establish an outlet in every city in Mexico.  

In England and the rest of the UK, interest rates vary between 5% and 20% per month, the same as in most US states. United States pawnbrokers are typically under a fair amount of regulation. Each individual state possesses its own laws indicating the interest rates that may be charged for various loan amounts. (VLC also has both a Santa Clarita Pawnshop and a Beverly Hills Pawnshop location.)