This is Small Business Weekly, a recurring feature in which we’ll spotlight a small, independently owned business in Bethesda or Chevy Chase. Got a business you think we should check out? Drop us a line at desk[at]bethesdanow[dot]com.
By Orrin Konheim
As it celebrates the 40th anniversary of Maryland Stamps and Coins, the Most family takes pride in being a true mom-and-pop-business in an era when fewer and fewer are left.
When asked what he’s most proud of about his store, family patriarch Herman Most answered, “The fact that I succeeded and we’re still here.”
Most first developed an interest in stamps as a child growing up in Brooklyn during the Great Depression. His uncle was a stamp collector and would bring home large duffle bags full of used stamps the two would sort through.
Many years later, Herman and sons Ernest and David have helped spread the joy of stamp collecting to a wider community of kids and adults in suburban Maryland.
After moving to Bethesda in 1962, Herman lent a helping hand to anyone interested in stamp collecting before he even had the store space. Many of the store’s customers today are people who have been associates of Herman Most before he opened the storefront space at 7720 Wisconsin Avenue in 1974.
“We’ve been here a long time so the kids come in and they become interested,” explained Most. “They then become adults and then they get interested and become customers.”
Ernest Most said he once had a lawnmower repair man in Gaithersburg recognize his last name.
Herman Most often uses the word perseverance while describing his life story. It took him eight years to earn a degree in electrical engineering as he worked himself through college in New York.
He worked for several years as an electrical engineer, including a stint with General Electric before moving to the D.C. area.
“I quit it to go into stamps, because this was a lot more interesting,” he said.
Most didn’t have a lot of money behind his stamp business when he opened his storefront space, so he promoted at shows and collected table fees from dealers.
“I did it by working harder and promoting shows and that just kept growing,” he said. “It’s not easy to do when you got five kids to support”
Herman and his wife had three other children who aren’t currently in the family business.
Because stamp and coin collecting is such a niche hobby, the Most family has relied heavily on promotion.
In addition to expanding their internet presence, they often give kids a free guidebook that serves as a gateway. David Most also teaches a course on collecting at Norwood Elementary in Chevy Chase.
“For young adults, it’s a great learning experience — history and geography — something that they can learn from and enjoy for the rest of their lives,” David Most said. “A lot of time, they get back into it in their later life.
“There’s a lot of competition for youngsters, like computer games. So trying to get children involved in a hobby is a real problem, because they’re into other things these days that children weren’t 30 or 40 years ago back in the 70s and 80s,” Most said.
Herman has entrusted sons Ernest and David with continuing the legacy of the store today. It’s location is set to be redeveloped into Bethesda Center, a new hotel and office building a few blocks from the Bethesda Metro.
David manages the day-to-day operations, while Ernest runs the computer operations, advertising, website and the mail ordering business. Ernest works a full-time job outside of the store but says he primarily lends his help to support his brother.
“I started the business before they got interested,” Herman Most said. “They had to get interested through necessity because I needed help.”
The redevelopment of the storefront’s building is at least a few years away. The family said they have no plans to cease operations if and when the building gets demolished.
Over time, however, the two Most brothers have embraced stamp collecting. David has even gained prominence on a national level for his expertise.
He served as director the American Stamp Dealer’s Assocition and was even hired by the federal govenrment to do an appraisal of the Postmaster General’s office.
“My personal opinion is that David is the best in the business. He has the most integrity,” Herman Most said.
“I don’t have my own collection because I’m helping others with theirs,” says David Most. “It’s like ‘The shoemaker doesn’t have a pair of shoes because he works on it everyday.'”
As for the business climate the store finds itself in, Ernest Most said it’s more difficult for hobby stores to compete than it used to be.
“I think you’re going to find a lot of brick-and-mortar shops are plagued by internet companies that have lower operating budgets. Companies that manufacture products for a hobby all of a sudden are competing with shops online,” Ernest Most explained.
“You have to be careful how you spend your money,” David Most said. “You have to not be greedy and enjoy what you do. In some cases, be a little lucky too.”
