They have never shrugged off their seedy image, the patina of shame that welcomes, if that is the right word, a customer every time that he or she comes through the door, and for a while times have been tough for America's pawnbrokers.

But not any more. The credit crunch has left millions struggling with their mortgages and the steepling petrol price has hit motorists and motor manufacturers alike - and pawnbrokers are rubbing their hands. Americans are turning to them in the hunt for alternative means of raising cash.

Moreover, it is not only the poor without bank accounts who are turning to the traditional lender of last resort. Families on higher incomes are doing business under the three spheres - the traditional sign of pawnbrokers' stores across the United States.

Attracted by the high price of gold, which has risen by about 10 per cent this year to $899 an ounce last week, pawnbrokers are reporting a surge in the number of middle-class Americans raiding their jewellery boxes.

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Rick Sussman, of the Northwestern Loan Company in Baltimore, one of the oldest pawnbrokers in Maryland, said: “We see more people coming in to raise money in these uncertain economic times. In better times, you might see people from the lower end of the socioeconomic class getting loans, and in bad economic times you tend to see additionally people who are middle class trying to raise money.”

The National Pawnbrokers Association (NPA) estimates that the average pawn loan is about $60 (£30) and typically is lent against goods for between one and three months. Interest rates can be as high as 20 per cent when redeeming goods.

David Adelman, of the NPA, said that such loans helped borrowers to “pay the rent, keep the lights on and gas in their cars to get to work”.

For those who are put off by the thought of visiting a pawnshop, online gold brokers, such as GoldFellow and Gold4Cash, have emerged, allowing Americans to register over the internet, post their jewellery and receive payment directly into their bank accounts.

Americans have been forced to be more innovative in their attempts to raise cash, with US households owing more on credit cards than at any other time.

According to data published by the US Federal Reserve, the American central bank, in March Americans owed a record $957 billion on their credit cards, which had risen by 8per cent compared with the same period the year before.

Banks, facing their own liquidity problems, have become more circumspect about extending lines of additional credit, such as increased overdraft facilities and credit card limits.

According to the Transamerica Centre for Retirement Studies, there has been a sharp increase in the number of Americans taking out retirement-plan loans, a type of borrowing that allows an individual to get a loan secured on the value of his pension.

Other lenders are emerging. Annuity buyers acquire insurance policies or structured settlements and take on the obligation of meeting monthly repayments.

In return, the customer receives a cash lump sum at a significant discount to both the future value of the policy at the time of maturity and at a discount to the repayments already made. It is not unusual for a holder of a life insurance policy to receive as little as 15 per cent of the value of the investment.

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