Of the various minerals categorized as precious metals, silver is the most plentiful. Silverplate: The silver content in silverplated wares is minimal. There are many different terms used to describe various alloys sold as silver. Any mark indicating a higher silver content, such as 950, would also qualify as sterling. Brittania silver (950): Brittania silver is an alloy made of 95% silver, which exceeds the requirement for sterling silver. For an item to be deemed sterling silver, 92.5% of the metal content in the alloy must be pure silver. Items containing the purest forms of silver would be labeled .999, but in reality, silver is too soft to be used in manufacture unless it is mixed with other metals. Most silver items include a stamp to indicate the purity of the silver being used. Items made from this alloy may include marks such as 900, Coin, and Standard. Marks on these pieces include 925 or Sterling. It has long been used to fashion serving pieces, decorative items, jewelry, and a host of other goods. Some of them contain no silver at all, so it’s prudent to understand these terms when investing in antiques or collectibles. Sterling silver (925): This is the standard for silver, identifying a silver item that is at least 92.5% silver mixed with copper to give it strength. When metals are combined, they are known as alloys. European silver (800): Sometimes referenced as continental silver, this is another non-sterling type of silver alloy. It is most often marked 950. This silver qualifies as sterling, but it is slightly softer than sterling pieces marked 925 or simply sterling. Hence, many sterling silver items are labeled .925. Thus, most silver, including items that known as sterling silver, fall into the alloy category. Marks can include 800, 825, 830, or 850, indicating 80, 82.5, 83, and 85% silver content, respectively. Coin silver (900): Since it is only 90% silver, this alloy cannot be referenced as sterling.

A silverplate marking, sometimes incorporated into a manufacturer’s mark, indicates that the item was made by electroplating a base metal with a relatively thin coating of silver. These are far less valuable than items made of sterling silver. Alpaca does not polish to a high shine like sterling silver. German silver: This silver-colored metal actually contains no silver at all. If the plating is thick, the item may even test as sterling under traditional acid testing. Many collectible items are made of silver-colored metal that can sometimes be confused with sterling silver, but which have little or no silver content in them. This is especially true with jewelry. It will not polish to the high shine possible with silver alloys. When items are marked Quadruple Plate, this indicates four layers of silver were applied to the item over the base metal. Alpaca: While it is sometimes referenced as “new silver,” this gray-colored alloy has only 2% silver content mixed with copper, zinc, and nickel. Marks include German Silver and E.P.N.S (electroplated nickel silver). It is an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc. Items made of this substance are marked nickel silver. In these instances, you can use a magnet to determine if a base metal. It is a mixed metal alloy with no silver content, used around the same time frame as German silver to simulate more expensive sterling silver. It can also be used as a base for silverplating. When an item is not marked to identify its silver content but still tarnishes like silver, there is a very good chance it is a silverplated piece. Items of Mexican or South American origin emulating silver can be found with the Alpaca mark. These are higher in quality and less likely to wear down to the base metal with polishing over time. A magnet will firmly stick to a silverplated item, but it will not adhere to sterling silver. Nickel silver: This is another silver-colored material with the same metal content as German silver. Since silverplate does tarnish like true silver, it requires cleaning from time to time to keep its shine.

Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. Because the League’s money was not frequently debased like that of England, English traders stipulated to be paid in pounds of the Easterlings, which was contracted to sterling. In 1260, Henry III granted them a charter of protection. Such elements include germanium, zinc, platinum, silicon, and boron. Fine silver, which is 99.9% pure silver, is relatively soft, so silver is usually alloyed with copper to increase its hardness and strength. 1300) with the explanation that the coin was originally made by moneyers from that region. By 1854, the tie between Easterling and Sterling was well-established, as Ronald Zupko quotes in his dictionary of weights. The Hanseatic League was officially active in the London trade from 1266 to 1597. This etymology may have been first suggested by Walter de Pinchebek (c. Recent examples of these alloys include argentium, sterlium and silvadium. Byzantine solidus, originally known as the solidus aureus meaning ‘solid gold‘ or ‘reliable gold’. The British numismatist Philip Grierson disagrees with the “star” etymology, as the stars appeared on Norman pennies only for the single three-year issue from 1077 to 1080 (the Normans changed coin designs every three years). Another argument is that the Hanseatic League was the source for both the origin of its definition and manufacture, and in its name is that the German name for the Baltic is Ostsee, or ‘East Sea’, and from this the Baltic merchants were called “Osterlings”, or “Easterlings”. The word in origin refers to the newly introduced Norman silver penny. In support of this he cites the fact that one of the first acts of the Normans was to restore the coinage to the consistent weight and purity it had in the days of Offa, King of Mercia. Their Kontor, the Steelyard of London, was called Easterlings Hall, or Esterlingeshalle. 1142) uses the Latin forms libræ sterilensium and libræ sterilensis monetæ. One of the earliest attestations of the term is in Old French form esterlin, in a charter of the abbey of Les Préaux, dating to either 1085 or 1104. The English chronicler Orderic Vitalis (1075 – c. The claim has been made in Henry Spelman’s glossary (Glossarium Archaiologicum) as referenced in Commentaries on the Laws of England by William Blackstone. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the most plausible etymology is a derivation from a late Old English steorling (with, or like, a ‘little star’), as some early Norman pennies were imprinted with a small star.

This would have been perceived as a contrast to the progressive debasement of the intervening 200 years, and would therefore be a likely source for a nickname. Between 1634 and 1776, some 500 silversmiths created items in the “New World” ranging from simple buckles to ornate Rococo coffee pots. 3⁄4 pennyweights of alloy, with 20 pennyweights to the troy ounce. The colonies lacked an assay office during this time (the first would be established in 1814), so American silversmiths adhered to the standard set by the London Goldsmiths Company: sterling silver consisted of 91.5-92.5% by weight silver and 8.5-7.5 wt% copper. Stamping each of their pieces with their personal maker’s mark, colonial silversmiths relied upon their own status to guarantee the quality and composition of their products. 12th century in the area that is now northern Germany. A piece of sterling silver dating from Henry II’s reign was used as a standard in the Trial of the Pyx until it was deposited at the Royal Mint in 1843. It bears the royal stamp ENRI. Casting was frequently the first step in manufacturing silver pieces, as silver workers would melt down sterling silver into easily manageable ingots. In Colonial America, sterling silver was used for currency and general goods as well. REX (“King Henry”) but this was added later, in the reign of Henry III. Although silversmiths of this era were typically familiar with all precious metals, they primarily worked in sterling silver. Colonial silversmiths used many of the techniques developed by those in Europe.

To reduce the amount of counterfeiting of silver items.

Occasionally, they would create small components (e.g. teapot legs) by casting silver into iron or graphite molds, but it was rare for an entire piece to be fabricated via casting. More commonly, a silversmith would forge an ingot into the desired shape, often hammering the thinned silver against specially shaped dies to “mass produce” simple shapes like the oval end of a spoon. He retired a wealthy artisan, his success partly due to this strategic investment. There was a marked increase in the number of silver companies that emerged during that period. Silversmiths would then seam parts together to create complex and artistic items, sealing the gaps with a solder of 80 wt% silver and 20 wt% bronze. To indicate the purity of the silver alloy used in the manufacture or hand-crafting of the piece. To note the date and/or location of the manufacture or tradesman. To restore the workability, the silversmith would anneal the piece-that is, heat it to a dull red and then quench it in water-to relieve the stresses in the material and return it to a more ductile state. The hammering occurred at room temperature, and, like any cold forming process, caused work hardening of the silver, which become increasingly brittle and difficult to shape. Finally, they would file and polish their work to remove all seams, finishing off with engraving and stamping the smith’s mark. To reduce the amount of counterfeiting of silver items. With the onset of the first Industrial Revolution, silversmithing declined as an artistic occupation. Hammering required more time than all other silver manufacturing processes, and therefore accounted for the majority of labor costs. The height of the silver craze was during the 50-year period from 1870 to 1920. Flatware lines during this period sometimes included up to 100 different types of pieces. The American revolutionary Paul Revere was regarded as one of the best silversmiths from this “Golden Age of American Silver”. Although he is celebrated for his beautiful hollowware, Revere made his fortune primarily on low-end goods produced by the mill, such as flatware. Cutlery sets were often accompanied by tea sets, hot water pots, chocolate pots, trays and salvers, goblets, demitasse cups and saucers, liqueur cups, bouillon cups, egg cups, plates, napkin rings, water and wine pitchers and coasters, candelabra and even elaborate centerpieces. This was especially true during the Victorian period, when etiquette dictated no food should be touched with one’s fingers. From about 1840 to 1940 in the United States and Europe, sterling silver cutlery (US: ‘flatware’) became de rigueur when setting a proper table. Following the Revolutionary War, Revere acquired and made use of a silver rolling mill from England. To identify the silversmith or company that made the piece.