The most obvious way to invest in silver right now is to go to a bank and actually purchase the precious metal. Silver bullion is also available in both bar and coin form, and many serious coin collectors and silver investment brokers will also offer silver bars in different sizes and configurations. In most cases, you'll find bars in sizes from single ounce to one ton, and larger bars may be worth more than one hundred ounces each. Most investors will have a preference between the two formats - whether to go for the bigger size, or for the lower premiums.
One other option for long-term investments in precious metals would be to look into ETFs, or exchange traded funds. An ETF is essentially a security in which you own part of a portfolio of securities that are bought and sold on the world market. With an ETF, you don't have to hold the actual metal in hand, and instead, you own a part of the basket of securities that make up that portfolio. This makes for a very simple, low-risk, low-end investment strategy, as your money will always be safe and secure in the ETF itself. You can find many good ETFs today that would make excellent investments in gold and silver, and these types of funds can really help you achieve your long-term investment goals.
However, since silver is currently experiencing a historic rise in value in response to the financial crisis in the United States, it's certainly not a bad idea to take advantage of this upswing in the market. Now is also a good time to make investments in other precious metal funds.
For instance, gold and platinum are rising in price, but unlike silver, they are not a practical investment for most investors right now because they are no longer in use. Gold and platinum are very stable metals, so if you've made a good decision in buying gold and platinum, these metals are well suited for long-term storage.