We are even discussing maybe 10oz gold coins for the parents gifts this year.
Bilmac - You are either very generous, or you meant to say
1/10 oz coins.
You had asked about silver. I think it's a good idea to have some for small purchases. I like the Walking Liberty 1/2 dollars and Mercury dimes. All pre-1965 dimes, quarters and halves are 90% silver + 10% copper, but the more recent Roosevelt dimes, Kennedy halves and Washington quarters are (since 1965) also made in non-silver, so not immediately recognizable as silver coins. You also may have the advantage of the
'ooh-ahh, it's an antique' factor when you pull one out and show it to someone for trading.
You can pick up common circulated Walking Liberty halves for <$8 and Mercury dimes for <$2 now. There's a guy on ebay who auctions them in small and medium quantities and they generally go for close to that price. That's not a bad deal since melt value for a half is ~$6 and for a dime ~$1 these days.
I stay away from most silver bullion coins/bars. They look cheesy, are sometimes counterfeited and cost near the same as real US silver coins.
