The reader who is truly interested in coinage in general and especially silver will be interested in the series by Jason Hommel on the problems with the Perth Mint of Australia.
http://www.silverstockreport.com/2008/perth5.html
It appears the Mint has presold about a years production at last year's price. With the cost of fuel (mining requires a lot of fuel), it might prove difficult to fill their contracts. Another observer posted that the Perth Mint is insured by Lloyds of London and this problem along with the derivatives problem could bring Lloyds down.
Here is a thread on coining your own coins:
http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=30910