Starting to Invest in Physical Precious Metals

I started investing in precious metals with my first purchase of 14, 1 ounce silver maple leaf coins on 9-Nov-2010 (about a month before my daughter was born).  I bought them from the Scotiabank a block away from my office and paid CAD$35.88/ounce.  Spot price that day closed at CAD$28.73, and several weeks (and overpriced purchases) later, I realized there were local coin shops that offered significantly better pricing on gold and silver bullion and have never since gone back to Scotia to buy any metal.

The main  objective of this blog will be to share lessons learnt and my personal analysis on investing in precious metals.  Relatively speaking, I am a newbie in the PM investing community, however, I've made all the newbie mistakes and it is my hope to share them with others such that other prospective investors don't have to endure the pain I have.

It is my opinion that physical precious metals, specifically gold and silver, represent not only the best, essential, necessary inflation hedge, but also as of November 2011, the best investment opportunity in a lifetime.

I will not talk about paper silver market and big-fish conspiracy theories of market manipulation by big banks and governments and stick to what I know - in your hand, physical metal.