Is it possible that a strategy used by the General Manager of your favorite National Football League team can be applied to building your collection? This might not be as much of a stretch as you are, no doubt, thinking – and I invite you to read this blog and give my theory some thought.   
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I get calls from potential new gold coin collectors nearly every day. Some of them have spent a good deal of time researching the gold coin market and have a good idea what the coins that they may be buying will cost. Others have no clue and are almost charmingly naive about what they can buy given their budget.   
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When I was a kid just beginning to get serious about coins, an older local dealer made a comment that has stayed with me for years. When discussing his buying philosophy he said, “Stick with the keys, kid, you’ll never go wrong.” What he meant, of course, was that if you bought the rarest, most desirable coins in a specific series, you would do well over time.   
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One of the oldest jokes in the book goes, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.” Hoary? Yes. Old when your grandpa was a kid? Sure. But oh so true and applicable to the subject of this blog which is, as you no doubt already know, “how to become a good numismatist.” Because to become a good collector, you do need to practice. But what exactly do you need to practice most?   
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You can have unlimited funds but without adhering to a basic core group of numismatic fundamentals, I believe it is very difficult–if not impossible–to build a great collection of coins. Some of the best collections I have seen in the last few decades were built by collectors with average discretionary income levels.   
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If you have been collecting rare coins for more than a few years, there is a good chance that you have “found money” in your holdings. What I mean by this is that there are a number of things that you can do–often with little or no cost–that can significantly improve the appearance and value of your coins. Here are five suggestions: 1. Send Your Coins to CAC.   
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