Last time we talked a bit about gold and its alloys. This time the topic is silver.
Trivia! Silver was often valued more highly in ancient times than gold because it was less common and more difficult to extract. Gold is naturally found in nugget and crystal form. Silver is sometimes found naturally in conjunction with gold. An alloy of gold and silver, called electrum, was used by 700 BC in coinage, and yes, even the Vikings used electrum.
The vast majority of solid silver items in the US are made from Sterling Silver. The standard for Sterling Silver in the US is .925, which means that it is 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. These metals may include copper, germanium, and other trace metals. The “sterling” stamp is commonly used in the US, but it is also acceptable to use a “925” stamp. Outside of the US the stamp usually says “925”. Like gold, Sterling Silver’s color can vary, depending on exactly what sort of metals are in that 7.5%, but silver is generally valued for its “white shiny” appearance. In fact, the ancient Latin word for silver, Argentum, literally means “shiny”. And that leads us to a specialized form of Sterling Silver.
An increasingly popular form of Sterling Silver is Argentium Silver. This is actually a patented formulation that results in a thin layer of germanium on the surface of the sterling. The germanium layer is tough and resists oxidation- this means that the piece will not tarnish easily. While I know people who work with Argentium, it is still fairly uncommon among small producers, because it is a bit fussy. For instance, you can cool regular Sterling by dunking it in water. If you do that with Argentium silver it will shatter like glass. The Argentium that my metal supplier sells is stamped “935”.
Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver. It is usually stamped “999”, or “999F”. Fine Silver is rarely used for jewelry like rings because of its softness. Many enamelists cast their pieces in fine silver, or use fine silver sheet to enamel on, because it is an excellent base for enameling. The lack of copper in this silver means that there is less danger of the enamels changing color by absorbing the copper. Real glass enamel is colored using metal salts.
Coin silver was a standard in the US for silver coins prior to 1964. This silver is 90% silver, or .90. Coin silver from other countries may vary in silver content.
Terms like Bali Silver, Thai Silver, and Indian Silver have no legal meaning in the US metals market. The item must be stamped with a legal stamp to have meaning. I know merchants who sell Balinese silver that is guaranteed to be 925. And it is all stamped 925.
Company hallmarks can often be used on historic silver pieces to determine the actual type of silver that was used. This is an art in and of itself, and many books have been written on this topic, so I will not be discussing it.
Next Time: Well it looks like silver, but is it?
