I think Exhibitman is right on concerning his comment of looking for rare and/or unusual items (and add significant, in the best grade you can afford) before they rise in notoriety and price. The first sale of the quite rare 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth minor league schedule card I am personally aware of was the 1989 Copeland auction, in which it brought $6,000.00. Try to get your hands on one now for less than $200,000.00! And the Copeland example may or may not have been the higher grade one (VG-EX?) which later fetched $500,000.00 in what I believe was a REA auction several years ago. If so, that's an appreciation of over 20% compounded annually.
John Jay Pittman followed essentially the same approach (with an emphasis on esoteric items of true rarity) in coins in the mid to late 40's through the mid-fifties, reportedly spending approximately $100,000 or so total during that time period. His collection was auctioned off in the '90's following his death for over $25,000,000.00, and he wasn't especially rich when he was collecting (he was an employee of Eastman-Kodak for many years, but apparently not a really high level exec).
Plus, it's quite satisfying to find a very scarce to quite rare item you've been seeking for years!
Happy hunting!
Larry
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