In the 1980s and early 1990s when I was just collecting stamps and not dealing in stamps, I used to go to many of the local stamp shows with my buddies from the stamp club. We travelled to shows in Butler, Pittsburgh, Youngstown, OH and others to name a few.

One of the dealers who attended most of those shows was Howard Davis. When I first met him, he was in his early 70s.

I entered the stamp business in 2004. It was the spring of 2005 and I got a call from Howard’s son-in-law, Larry. I knew Larry because he went with Howard to most of the stamp shows to help him with the physical labor in setting up at a show. I always knew that Larry wasn’t much into stamps. He knew a few things. He went to the shows to provide the physical labor that Howard needed.

Howard had passed away a little while ago and Larry was looking for someone to buy his stock. Larry didn’t have any interest in continuing the business. I made the trip to Ohio one Saturday morning and met Larry at his house. I reviewed the material and Larry accepted my offer.

It was such a strange feeling to buy the stamps and deal in them when I was on the other side of the table not that many years ago doing the buying.

Howard was a very nice and friendly dealer. He always had a smile on his face. He was fair to deal with. It was a pleasure to be able to buy his stock from his son-in-law.