https server..cetificate and ssl
 

I am wanting to run a https server. This will probably be on Slackware Linux or FreeBSD but thats not really an issue. I feel that apache is the best webserver software out there, but which do I use--Apache-SSL or Apache with mod_ssl?

Also, this will be a small machine with very little 'hits-per-day'. (A sort of personal website, I mainly want to experiment and learn with 'secure webservers' [ha]). So, obviously I dont want to spend money getting a digital certificate. How can I make one and should I self-sign it (or is there another way to get a free one)?