It's a really good question, and there is no prefect answer, which is why there are many options. Really, it comes down to your desired purpose, objective and personal tastes.
One key thing to look at is the cost over "spot" for each item. Gold and silver markets have a "spot" price that is ever changing and established by certain insiders in the markets. It's a long story / issue, but it drive the market prices. All gold and silver is then sold at some mark-up over spot, which will depend upon the market demand for that particular item, and possibly other factors.
A good baseline to look at is the one ounce American Eagle round coins that are minted by the US government. They have very good market demand but have a higher price over spot, so you could consider other options, but you might not like them as much since they might not be as accepted in a secondary market-- which is really another factor to consider.
An option for larger silver purchases is to look at larger bars, such as 100oz bars. They can get you lower prices per oz, but they can't be divide as easy of course. Is that an issue for you? It might not be a good choice if this is all you have.
Often the cheapest way to get silver is with "junk" coin purchases, these are often just old US coins that were made with silver (as a percent of total weight). So here, you're getting silver for cheap, but not in 100% (or 99.999% pure) form, so it might not be what you want either. They aren't shiny and new either.
Specialty coins generally cost a little bit more, but you're paying the extra for something you really like and can show off, or use as an educational tool, etc. If it's worth the extra cost, buy it.
So that's a very, very 101 primer. I'm sure others can provide a lot more info, but feel free to post any more questions.
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