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" Silver
enjoys greater reflectivity and can achieve the most
brilliant polish of any metal like gold and platinum"
Mankind's timeless fascination with silver stretches
back 6,000 years. As early as 700 B.C., the Mesopotamian
merchants used silver as a form of exchange. Later, many
other civilizations also came to recognize the inherent
value of silver as a trading metal.
The ancient Greeks minted the drachma, which contained
1/8th ounce of silver; and in Rome, the basic coin was
the denarius, weighing 1/7th ounce. And let's not forget
the English shilling "sterling," originally denoting a
specific weight of silver, which has come to mean
excellence.
Although silver is relatively scarce, it is the most
plentiful and least expensive of the precious metals.
Precious metals are valued for their beauty and relative
scarcity in the Earth's crust, and their superior
properties. They are very malleable, highly resistant to
corrosion, superior reflectors of light and are
unsurpassed as conductors of heat and electricity.
Besides signifying status and wealth, silver has been
one of the most romantic and sought after of all the
precious metals. Mystified by its beauty from the
beginning of time, people have been drawn to remote
areas of the world in search of this white, reflective
metal.
Silver has often been surrounded by mystery. The Incas
of Peru called it "the tears of the moon" because
they were awed by silver's strange gleam, and the
Chinese believed that a silver locket hung around a
child's neck would ward off evil spirits.
Jewelry and Silverware
Silver possesses working qualities similar to gold but
enjoys greater reflectivity and can achieve the most
brilliant polish of any metal. To make it durable for
jewelry, however, pure silver (999 fineness) is often
alloyed with small quantities of copper. In many
countries, Sterling Silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper)
is the standard for silverware and has been since the
14th century.
The copper toughens the silver and makes it possible to
use sterling silver for cutlery, bowls and other
decorative items such as picture frames.
Legal Disclaimer:
The above information has been sited from The Silver
Institute; please visit
www.silverinstitute.org to know more about
silver. The Silver Institute is a nonprofit
international association that draws its membership from
across the breadth of the silver industry. This includes
leading silver mining houses, refiners, bullion
suppliers, and manufacturers of silver products and
wholesalers of silver investment products. Established
in 1971, the Institute serves as the industry's voice in
increasing public understanding of the many uses and
values of silver. |
