Gold isn't realistic for me now.  How about the other shiny stuff?

Nothing wrong with silver.
Look into palladium as well.

There is Junk, old dimes, quarters & half dollars, and there are old silver dollars, peace & morgan dollars.

peace dollars are "semi numismatic" that is collectable and are private when bought or sold.  Junk has no collectability so .gov considers it "bullion" and it is subject to certain reporting requirements to the IRS for possible capitol gains taxation.  You can buy junk no questions asked for cash money.  If you try to sell more than $1000 FACE VALUE the dlr is required to report it to the IRS.  But that is like $13k of silver as junk is running about 13 times its face value currently.

Look at it as insurance, not an investment.  Buy some junk and some dollars to have just in case but don't worry so much about trying to buy low & sell high, all speculating like.  Everyone should have a quarter bag to a whole bag around the house.  

Remember, right now we are actually fighting deflation more than inflation so in a deflationary environment, going from cash to metals is not necessarily profitable.  

It is probably more important to have like 1k cash on hand and 3-6 mo of $$ in saving account.  

Just get a little at a time, maybe bury it or something.  Just call all the local dlrs & go to has the best price.

Check this one out.  Someone had a sense of humor when they came up with this.  Stage Coach Silver - "For when you have to get out of Dodge"

I love the "For when you have to get out of Dodge" old west analogy.

..I have always kept silver in reserves,
I figure SHTF a loaf of bread will be easier to buy with 3silver dimes V 300 US Dollars..

I keep from 10oz bars to pre 64 dimes, and all in between..a few K worth as I can afford it and build up my savings with silver and gold as well..gold has quadrupled since I orginally started to buy it 30 years ago..as his silver boullion
Silver coin, has gone from 3- 4xface value in the 80's to 17x face value in 20 years, NOT bad but the dollar has gone similar with inflation rate..

just comfortable knowing should need by a LOT of people will take REAL metal V Paper money in times of trouble, gold and silver has ALWAYS held value..
Platnuim MY concern has always been, How does Joe Average tell the difference from Silver??


CHEF

What do you intend to use the silver for?  Post-SHTF currency?  Hedge against the dollar?  Ordinary investment? Short-term trading?  Anti-bacterial properties?

He could do all of the above with it.

He could probably even do more with it.  Knowing what he wants to do with it will make it easier for people to give good advice, however.  If he wants to do short-term trading, for instance, he just needs to buy paper silver.  If he wants it to be currency, that paper isn't going to do him any good.

I have found it impossible for me to save paper money.If I have I in my pocket I spend it on more ammo and mags that I dont need.Silver is not that easy to spend so what I do now is every time I buy a box of ammo(50 rounds of 40 or 45)I also buy a 1oz Silver Eagle(about the same price)and throw it in the Gun Safe right next to my ammo.

Post-SHTF currency &  Hedge against the dollar.  So what is the dead easiest and mot practical way to get started?  And why is one type of silver more or less practical for my uses?

one nor the other is truly any better than the other both take up the same space, the 1oz bullion coin is a smidge larger than the $1 silver coin,
bullion is 999,9 where as old coins are 90% sliver
the GOVT is less likey to seize coins as they are bullion but, like guns and ammo, out of control Government seize's what id damn well pleases,(including your pay)
I buy what I can, when I can, where I can, gold is now breaking 1100,00 as of RIGHT NOW sillver isnt far behind in going up additional value with it.


every coin shop, gold and silver exchange etc has old coin for sale, they have been gleaned by the collectors and have no historic value beyond content.
I again buy from dimes, quarters, halves and dollars when I find good price I buy all I can afford
bullion is goiing to be market price "spot" plus commission, when you sell IF YOU HAVE TO SELL you will only get "spot price"
most dealers will buy back at the price paid if you are talking a few dollars difference per ounce, but all metals are LONG term investments, as I stated about I bought silver coin at face and twice value 30 years ago and it is now 17 times face value..good investment move? maybe, but the dollar bought a ton more 30 years ago than today..
I payed as much for my first house as I did my last truck..

feel free to IM if this isnt the answer you seek..but dont know what else to say about it as far as "whats right" or "whats practical" or tactical for that matter
KITCO silver and gold
CHEF

Do not buy SLV or any other "paper" silver.  Only buy the actual metal- you don't own it unless you hold it!

Like CHEF said, I'd go with a mix of American Silver Eagles and some junk silver- dimes and halves.

Silver is actually a good investment right now too.

Has plenty of catching up to do with it's historical ration to gold of around 50:1

at that rate silver should correct itself to around $22 an ounce

I buy silver, I cant afford the other stuff. Plus some say that silver is really undervalued right now. they think it should be higher , a lot higher. I dont know. I just buy it I buy .999 silver coins.  I try not to touch it and I wanna get it in an airtight container, maybe even the on of the things that sucks all the air out, so it wont corrode.

Silver gets heavy in a hurry.  At some point you'll need to augment with something that has a higher $/lb ratio.  Bummer, eh?

True, im hoping to trade the silver in when I can reach the value of one ounce of gold, then I will trade the silver for gold. and keep doing that. But if you are in a SHTF situation ,how easy is it going to be to trade that gold coin for something petty but you still need? Silver is also good to have. Gold is good for when you are trying to get out in a hurry, the silver is good if you are staying and need to trade for stuff.

You are assuming gold itself isn't overvalued and due to correct ... down.

With the government spending like crazy, the fed doubling the amount of cash, our foreign enemies owning a ton of our government debt (in which they can all sell at once, driving down the price of treasuries and at the same time making the treasury unable to sell any more debt because of the huge supply and low demand, it would stall the fed gaining money, forcing the fed reserve to step in which would incrase the money supply wreaking havoc on inflation and gold going up even more. ) and many other forces pushing down the value of the dollar (us buying everything overseas is one) which only drives up the prices of commodities (gold and silver being one)

with what the Chinese have been snatching up compounded by what the INDIANs bought yesterday?? It may have been over valued but I beleive GOLD caught up over nite yesterday..

The historical ratio is more like 16:1.

+1 - The founding fathers initially set the ratio at 15:1 but changed it a few years later to 16:1 where the ratio has been reached several times in our history, the last time was in 1980 when gold reached $800/ounce and silver reached  $50/ounce.