I will post the contrary opinion and say that a person should have some of their stash in Gov issued 999 or 9999 silver coins, like ASE's, Maples, Onza/Libertads, Philharmonics, etc., assuming a person can get them at a decent premium. There is no argument that from a purely economical standpoint generic rounds/bars have the best buy/sell spread (at least in my area). But, it is not by that much. One good thing going for the Gov minted stuff is you never have to worry about counterfeit/fakes assuming you buy from a reputable source (and get current year coins especially). At my local stores they take them right out of a monster box they got from a national distributor. The same can be said too for most generics if made by a well known private mint and you get them from the source or a trusted coin store. But I have to say personally I always have more faith in the Gov made coins even though I KNOW my generic stuff is real. When it comes time to sell you should get more for your Gov made stuff than for generics, at least that is how it is here locally.
Down the road should silver break 50, or 40 for that matter, is the extra 1.50 to 2.00 more per coin premium going to be recouped? I think it might be. But even if it doesn't will it matter at those prices if you are buying now? I think if/when the masses ever do wake up to PMs, they will favor Gov made coins over generics, which could cause premiums for them to go up enough to recoup or even do better than if you bought generics now. No way to tell for sure though.
I have been fortunate to be able to buy off quality ASEs and Maples for roughly a buck or so over spot. I take those over generic (which cost about the same) anytime I can get them. By off quality I mean spots, excessive toning, etc, but no actual damage to the coins.
I would say have some generic, some junk silver and some nice Gov official bullion if you can get it for a decent premium, even though it will cost more than generic.
Just my opinion.
Jim
