Vintage Hard Rock Cafe Gibson Guitar Melbourne Pin
Pin Has the Australian flag as back ground and the store location on the guitar neck.
Above average condition and a nice collectible from a now defunct store.
Guitars and the more obvious rock themes are particularly popular with pin collectors. Hard Rock Cafe Pins are usually issued each year and will normally feature the faces of some of the world’s greatest rock stars or their famous guitars.
The Melbourne Australia location opened on October 21, 1995 and closed October 21, 2007.
The owning franchise collapsed in 2007 leaving creditors chasing debts in excess of 4 million dollars. Discussion were underway for a revival of the HRC group Australian licenses in 2011 but to date nothing has been clearly decided.
Design
Lovely metal pin in above average condition. The picture says it all.
Enamel finish with gold overtones.
3 x 2.5 cm
History
Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc. is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2007, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Currently, there are 175 Hard Rock locations in 53 countries with the largest in Orlando.
On December 7, 2006, Rank sold its Hard Rock business to the Seminole Tribe of Florida for $965 million. Included in the deal were 124 Hard Rock Cafes, four Hard Rock Hotels, two Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hotels, two Hard Rock Live! concert venues, and stakes in three unbranded hotels. Rank retained the Hard Rock Casino in London, and rebranded it the G Casino Piccadilly. The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas was also not part of the deal, as it was sold by Peter Morton to Morgans Hotel Group in May 2006. The final takeover was mired in controversy, due to a payment clause in a contract with one casino developer, Power Plant Entertainment. Power Plant and the Seminoles announced a settlement in April 2007 which both sides called equitable.
On January 8, 2007, Rank shareholders approved the Seminoles’ $965 million offer. The Tribe announced it finalized the deal on March 11, 2007.
On June 22, 2008, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood began “Vegas-style” table gambling in addition to the Class II slots already in operation. To win approval for the table games, which were barred under Florida law, the Seminole Tribe paid the State of Florida $100 million as part of a 25-year pact signed by Governor Charlie Crist. On July 3, 2008, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that the governor’s agreement was unconstitutional, but table games continue to operate because the Federal Department of the Interior approved the now-invalid pact with the state.
*All history taken from Wikipedia for educational purposes only.