Glad you're positive on silver, Alex. The SHTF value of holding coins amuses me, so I'm inclined to hoard these. Silver seems like a better vehicle for bartering (smaller units for food, etc., you know, when the SHTF). Plus, they're really pretty and my brother, who always bought coins one at a time, gets a kick out of dumping a tube of 20 eagles.

The closest I've come to investing in paper metals is putting 15% of our retirement money in PRPFX. They've got like, what, 20% in gold bullion and 5% in silver? The ETFs appeal to me too, but I'm a chicken, and it's easier to buy my gold wrapped in a bunch of other stuff.

Still got my eye on GLD and SLV, though. It's amazing the kinds of things we can invest in these days, and so easily!