Btw APMEX.com is a reputable online precious metals dealer - can't go wrong with their silver bullion.
And I completely agree with it being a real good idea to keep a large amount of ones $$$ in PM's instead of currency. At any time the banks could close for a "holiday" and overnight devalue the dollar by half or more in a crisis situation. Every single fiat currency in the history of man has eventually collapsed - because it's just a scheme based on faith alone, and not tangible goods with intrinsic value.
And even if it doesn't outright collapse, they keep flooding more dollars into the system which destroys its value over time. IOW, its a wasting asset.