As several pointed out Provident is decent, as is Silvertown. Make sure you know what minimum sell volume your preferred cash out company requires. There is no guarantee they will be buying if silver goes to $100 or gold to $5000. The nice thing about 90% "junk" or "constitutional" silver is that many of the older coins are instantly recognizable and in theory could be used for bartering in an extreme situation.
Silver does have some value other than cash as it is antimicrobial and has some other applications but that is a whole other can of worms.
To answer a couple of other questions, dollar cost average over time, with moderate purchases. Keep a small ledger so you know what you have into it, not too detailed, just "$20 face 90% at spot of $12.25 per dollar" and "5 10oz bars at $17.00 per OZ"
Avoid disreputable dealers.
Avoid gimmick coins. An American Eagle or Maple Leaf may command a bit above spot, but the "Limited to 50,000 Star Wars Collectors Silver Round" for $20 above spot is not an investment, in my mind, it is a hobby purchase.
Gain an appreciation of rare coins while you are at it, they have amazing histories and you will see pretty quickly that money tells the tale of the country better than a lot of history books.
My $0.02...
Silver does have some value other than cash as it is antimicrobial and has some other applications but that is a whole other can of worms.
To answer a couple of other questions, dollar cost average over time, with moderate purchases. Keep a small ledger so you know what you have into it, not too detailed, just "$20 face 90% at spot of $12.25 per dollar" and "5 10oz bars at $17.00 per OZ"
Avoid disreputable dealers.
Avoid gimmick coins. An American Eagle or Maple Leaf may command a bit above spot, but the "Limited to 50,000 Star Wars Collectors Silver Round" for $20 above spot is not an investment, in my mind, it is a hobby purchase.
Gain an appreciation of rare coins while you are at it, they have amazing histories and you will see pretty quickly that money tells the tale of the country better than a lot of history books.
My $0.02...
