Both gold bullion and silver are money metals.
Both are an effective store of wealth, as insurance against sudden economic downturns.
Both also offer liquidity, in so far as they are easy to sell if and when you need to.
So yes, by all means also buy silver coins and bars.
In fact, many observers maintain that the potential upside for silver is better than it is for gold. In proportion to the price of gold, the price if silver appears to be somewhat low right now. And that low follows a very long history of the relative price of gold and silver being very consistent.
Also, if you have limited cash resources, you’ll find it easier to put aside money to buy silver, which is trading, at the time of writing, at about $30 an ounce.
So what’s the downside?
The principle downside for people who want to own and store their precious metals at home, is that gold delivers a lot more wealth in a much smaller package. You can easily hold ten one-ounce gold coins in your hand – with a value of almost $14,000.
The same value in silver coins or bars would weigh over 465 ounces. That’s a lot more than you can hold in one hand, and presents some challenges when it comes to safe storage at home.
The same problem arises if you want to store your precious metals in a bank safety deposit box. You’ll have to rent a much, much larger box in order to hold silvers bars.
In short, because of its higher price per ounce, gold is a much more convenient store of wealth. It’s easy to hide at home, and you can store a small fortune in gold in even the smallest safety deposit box.
However, as both gold and silvers are money metals, you can mix it up a little. Both are set to increase in value significantly over the months to come, but one may increase in value more than another.
Hedge your bets by buying some of each. Both are likely to give you a very nice return for your money, and one will perhaps do a lot better than the other.