Buying silver or gold?

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Great advice.  But there are problems.  Where to buy.  I have been looking online.  So far the "best" I have seen is about $8 over spot (which, atm, is $14.45... probably).  So, for $22, almost $23, I can buy silver.  Now, I should say, I am looking at what is known as junk silver.  I think the only thing cheaper, and just by a bit from what I have seen, is bullion coins and bars.  The problem with those is that not even I would be able to be sure if I was getting actual silver.  You can't trust anybody these days.  Desert Cat suggested ebay, but I can't make heads or tails out of that.  Selling coins in small lots makes figuring out how much silver is there difficult, then putting the sale on a timer and adding bidding means... not going to happen.  There simply is too much trust involved and I have none to spare.

I haven't looked local yet, but that is next on my list.  Well, once I figure out what is going on with medical, moving, the trip, and such.  I am holding off, until I know more.  But I would like to put a few coins up.  Yeah, there are great risks to storing.  Living alone or with others, highly liquid can drip away, or simply disappear.  We live in a risky world that is becoming riskier by the moment.  Which is why I won't buy much.  Just a little bit, that can easily be hidden, and of too little value to make a home intrusion worth the risk.  Burglary is the only real thing, hereabouts, that might occur.  While I am out of the cave rarely, it is enough for certain people to know.  The ones who don't work often have enough time to look for a way in.  Not just my place, mind you.  And the world is filling with people who aren't working.  People who believe they should be doing an easy nine-to-five, and deserve real money, because.

I'll keep checking.  I won't be able to buy much.  I could buy a small amount now, in any case.  But I'm not willing to pay nearly double over spot.  I would also like to figure out how to test to know if something is silver.  Even the big companies will slide non-silver.  I was reading about rolls of silver quarters.  Some idiot suggested that only four or five coins weren't silver, which he suggested was just fine.  Really?  I'd be ripping people in half for messing with me like that.  That, if it was just a roll, is a ten percent loss on paid goods!

Silver and gold merchants seem to be sleazier than the worst of used car salesmen, and they will cheat you if given an half a chance or not watched extremely well.  Bleh.