Playing with metals

I re-read my blog and realized I haven't covered metals. Any investment guru will suggest to keep 5% of your holdings in precious metals. Since several will say we are on a brink of a recession, metal prices should rise during that time. I am debating about getting some 24K first lady gold coins from the US mint when they come out this year.

However, I like to keep things more liquid and have an ETF position on gold (GLD, IAU).

I also own SLW (Silver Wheaton Corp) for my silver play. Barclays Global Investors are trying to get an silver ETF approved by the SEC. If they are successful, they will buy up 130 million ounces of silver which will put silver prices on a rocket. However, Silver Users Association is trying to get that blocked. I expect either a flat/moderate return or jackpot. Does anyone think there is a better silver stock?

I have read on some forums that individuals are shorting GLD. Then again these people are also shorting GOOG (oooops!). I cannot get an answer to the reason why. It is at an historical high, but under current outlook conditions, it is bound to continue hold value.