Is Buying Gold Coins A Safe Investment

I’ve been hit hard by the latest market crash much like everyone else in the US these days.  I’ve watched my 401k drop to almost nothing , thank goodness I have several years left to gain it back.  I have been wondering if buying gold coins or investing in gold and silver bullion would be a wise investment during these times.  Gold at one point was up to around $1000 per ounce and has dropped back to $800 in the last few weeks.  I have a small coin collection now , mostly silver dollars and proof sets but have been considering in buying some more.  I know the time to buy gold coins was a few years ago when gold was below $500 per ounce.  I looked into several sites that promote buying gold and gold coins and they are all speculating gold will go over $1000 and keep climbing in the next few years. Most do state that your portfolio should contain anymore than 10 percent of assets invested in gold or silver coins.  Look at the last few years of growth in gold prices at MSN