I would like to buy silver coins as a hedge against inflation. Is it important that the coins be uncirculated? Would it be a better buy to buy circulated coins?
Thanks.

Uncirculated are obviously more valuable to collectors as collectibles because thety are rarer. So you would pay more for an uncirculated coin today, and expect to get more for them in the future. If you are using the collectible market as your hedge (as opposed to the intrinsic value of the silver), it's not clear to me that the percentage growth in the value of uncirculated coins in the future would be different from that of uncirculated coins. Personally I would go easy on investing in coins as a hedge - yes they may be a good hedge against inflation over time, but the market can fluctuate greatly from month to month. So if someday you find yourself having to sell the coins quickly to raise cash it may not turn out so well for you.