2) Minted coins - ostensibly for collectible value but are also more easily trade-able. Silver or gold eagles or coins from various countries.
3) Bullion - silver 1000 oz bars have little premium over the spot price. Smaller denominations do, in either case you would want to get the bullion from a recognized mint.
Silver has been money for longer than gold has been money. It follows the gold market usually pretty well. Last Nov-Dec-08 gold began rising and silver didn't immediately follow. I think it has been correcting that gap recently.
Precious metals ought to be in everyone's asset mix - at least 10-20%. Since Obama is spending and inflating more PMs should be accumulated defensively.
With powerful worldwide parties looking to diversify out of the dollar, the idea of a gold based one seems to me to make the most sense. On the other hand the notion that a few other fiat currencies can be strapped together and weighted as a bundle of alternative fiat currencies is just a useless idea. We trade off one governments incredulous fiat currency performance for a basket comprised by other incredible central bankers with their political agendas. That would be sick. Only a hard-currency backing will work for replacing the dollar.
That's exactly how I see it. For me money is starting to seem more of a convenience factor for exchange, but not as a store of value. In fact, the practice of bundling fiat currencies seems to me about as sensible as bundling bad mortgages.