'In the early 80’s, I purchased a house across the street from my home in Phoenix, Arizona. The place I bought was a “beater.” The carpet was about 20 years old, the paint was peeling and the plumbing as in serious need of repair. I worked on the house for several months, adding paint, making repairs and just generally bringing it into the Twentieth Century. Then I put it up for sale. Among the first to look at the house was a couple from Florida. They had just moved to town and were looking a for place to buy. Although they liked what they saw in the house, they didn’t have enough cash for the full down payment. I thought that would be the end of dealings but it wasn’t. The couple put their heads together and came back with an offer that would change my life. They owned an antiquities store, they said, a place where a person could buy a piece of history. They had antiques, jewelry, old documents and signatures from many of the world’s most famous and interesting people. Would I, t...