Silver Takes First Place

Historically, silver has played an important role in jewelry, which you can see at crowdedsilver.com.au and art production, often being alloyed with another metal to harden it enough to maintain the desired shape and detail. Silver is a white metal element, harder than gold and softer than copper, second only to gold in terms of softness and flexibility. 

Silver is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Silver is considered one of the precious metals due to its excellent oxidation resistance. The importance of silver compared to other precious metals such as gold or platinum? 

Silver, today, is relatively economical. This may lead people to believe that it is not an important metal. This, however, is a wrong assumption.

Silver a long time ago

Our silver history began somewhere at the end of the fourth millennium BC when skilled residents of Turkey discovered that they could extract silver from lead by cupping. The silverware of this era rarely survives, but those do give us a good understanding of the production abilities of these Bronze Age silversmiths.

Silver as Currency

At the dawn of history (history means the part of the past we have recorded), silver was used as currency in Mesopotamia. Not like coins, but purely in the form of weights or rings. The silversmith's shop in Mesopotamia will be similar to the goldsmith's shop today. 

Although silver is slightly less yielding than gold and requires more frequent strengthening during the manufacturing process, it can still be cast, hammered into extremely thin flakes, carved, embossed, used for embossing, and used for filigree and granulation. Vessels, figurines, and jewelry that have been discovered indicate the use of high-purity silver to create very soft objects.

Silver as Coins

For the Greek and Roman societies, the supply of silver was extremely important because their coins, namely correctly minted silver coins, depended on it. It seems that it is not used as much in jewelry as gold (we see more gold items surviving from that era), but to some extent, this may be due to recasting and recycling. Surviving artefacts show that it was used to make various jewelry items like rings, anklets, bracelets, and so on.

Silver for Important People

Egyptians appreciated rare and exotic items and flavors. When it came from afar, they liked it. To obtain the Afghan lapis lazuli, they have made great efforts, which may be their most valuable gem. Along this trade route, silver also reached Egypt, and like lapis lazuli, it was highly valued and considered extremely unique. 

Gold can be obtained from the eastern desert and the mountains of Nubia. Perhaps some gold and silver coins were sent from here, but they preferred the imported pure silver, which is more valuable than gold and is only suitable for the most important people.

Silver as an Important Metal

Throughout history, sometimes silver was more valuable than gold. Compared with other precious metal cousins, this versatile white metal has also triggered more technological advancements in mining and metallurgy. The entire economy relied on its availability, and the acquisition of silver deposits triggered wars and thus history. Silver is undoubtedly one of the most important metals used by mankind. When you notice the amount of silver used in jewelry, its use is superior to all other precious metals.
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