hi bsylvest
My eyes glazed over trying to read this thread, hopefully i'm not regurgitating others' thoughts.
Anyway, i think:
Many silver investors are bonkers, posters here include paranoid schizophrenics and psychopaths.
Silver is, more likely than not, screwed. If it went to $9 in GFC1 it could go to something sickening like $4 in GFC2, by which point this forum's incessant BTFDers would have more on their minds than silver.
I bought in the mid 20s and didn't bother with that cost averaging stuff (cost averaging is good for catching falling knifes but stupid for catching rising bubbles).
I had the timidity/brains/discipline not to buy over $30. I missed the top but still sold most of my silver months ago for a decent profit. I'm now just left with a dozen kilo coins in a bank's safe deposit box. They might make nice doorstops or paperweights one day.
Anyway, you're feeling bad about your gamble so I suggest you sell maybe a third of your silver now, regardless of your purchase price. (You can at least claim a capital loss.)
The basis for my advice is that from here the price can only go up, go down or stay the same.
If silver goes up, you can be relieved your investment was successful and you still have most of your silver to cash in.
If silver goes down, you can be relieved you sold a fair whack at current higher prices. Plus there's always the option of buying it back.
If silver stays the same, whether you sold or not is immaterial.
Hope that helps, good luck people.