A report on Silver

Silver is extremely ductile, and can be drawn into a wire one atom wide.

The three common silver halide precipitates: from left to right, silver iodide, silver bromide, and silver chloride.

Structure of the diamminesilver(I) complex, [Ag(NH3)2]+

Different colors of silver–copper–gold alloys

Silver mining and processing in Kutná Hora, Bohemia, 1490s

16th-century fresco painting of Judas being paid thirty pieces of silver for his betrayal of Jesus

Acanthite sample from the Imider mine in Morocco

A 2004 American Silver Eagle bullion coin, minted in .999 fine silver.

Embossed silver sarcophagus of Saint Stanislaus in the Wawel Cathedral was created in main centers of the 17th century European silversmithery - Augsburg and Gdańsk

A tray of South Asian sweets, with some pieces covered with shiny silver vark

Proto-Elamite kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel; 3100–2900 BC; 16.3 x 6.3 x 10.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City)

Ancient Egyptian figurine of Horus as falcon god with an Egyptian crown; circa 500 BC; silver and electrum; height: 26.9 cm; Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst (Munich, Germany)

Ancient Greek tetradrachm; 315–308 BC; diameter: 2.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ancient Greek gilded bowl; 2nd–1st century BC; height: 7.6 cm, dimeter: 14.8 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roman plate; 1st–2nd century AD; height: 0.1 cm, diameter: 12.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Roman bust of Serapis; 2nd century; 15.6 x 9.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Auricular basin with scenes from the story of Diana and Actaeon; 1613; length: 50 cm, height: 6 cm, width: 40 cm; Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

French Rococo tureen; 1749; height: 26.3 cm, width: 39 cm, depth: 24 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

French Rococo coffeepot; 1757; height: 29.5 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

French Neoclassical ewer; 1784–1785; height: 32.9 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Neo-Rococo coffeepot; 1845; overall: 32 x 23.8 x 15.4 cm; Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, Ohio, USA)

French Art Nouveau dessert spoons; circa 1890; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (New York City)

Art Nouveau jardinière; circa 1905–1910; height: 22 cm, width: 47 cm, depth: 22.5 cm; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Hand mirror; 1906; height: 20.7 cm, weight: 88 g; Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

Mystery watch; ca. 1889; diameter: 5.4 cm, depth: 1.8 cm; Musée d'Horlogerie of Le Locle, (Switzerland)

Chemical element with the symbol Ag and atomic number 47.

- Silver

105 related topics with Alpha

Copper

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Chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29.

Copper just above its melting point keeps its pink luster color when enough light outshines the orange incandescence color

Unoxidized copper wire (left) and oxidized copper wire (right)

The East Tower of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, showing the contrast between the refurbished copper installed in 2010 and the green color of the original 1894 copper.

Native copper from the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, about 2.5 inches (6.4 cm) long

Chuquicamata, in Chile, is one of the world's largest open pit copper mines

Copper prices 2003–2011 in US$ per tonne

Copper alloys are widely used in the production of coinage; seen here are two examples - post-1964 American dimes, which are composed of the alloy cupronickel and a pre-1968 Canadian dime, which is composed of an alloy of 80 percent silver and 20 percent copper.

Copper(II) gives a deep blue coloration in the presence of ammonia ligands. The one used here is tetraamminecopper(II) sulfate.

Pourbaix diagram for copper in uncomplexed media (anions other than OH- not considered). Ion concentration 0.001 m (mol/kg water). Temperature 25 °C.

Ball-and-stick model of the complex [Cu(NH3)4(H2O)2]2+, illustrating the octahedral coordination geometry common for copper(II).

A corroded copper ingot from Zakros, Crete, shaped in the form of an animal skin (oxhide) typical in that era.

Many tools during the Chalcolithic Era included copper, such as the blade of this replica of Ötzi's axe

Copper ore (chrysocolla) in Cambrian sandstone from Chalcolithic mines in the Timna Valley, southern Israel.

In alchemy the symbol for copper was also the symbol for the goddess and planet Venus.

Chalcolithic copper mine in Timna Valley, Negev Desert, Israel.

Acid mine drainage affecting the stream running from the disused Parys Mountain copper mines

18th-century copper kettle from Norway made from Swedish copper

Chalcography of the city of Vyborg at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. The year 1709 carved on the printing plate.

Copper fittings for soldered plumbing joints

Copper electrical busbars distributing power to a large building

Copper roof on the Minneapolis City Hall, coated with patina

Old copper utensils in a Jerusalem restaurant

Rich sources of copper include oysters, beef and lamb liver, Brazil nuts, blackstrap molasses, cocoa, and black pepper. Good sources include lobster, nuts and sunflower seeds, green olives, avocados, and wheat bran.

Photosynthesis functions by an elaborate electron transport chain within the thylakoid membrane. A central link in this chain is plastocyanin, a blue copper protein.

Copper, silver, and gold are in group 11 of the periodic table; these three metals have one s-orbital electron on top of a filled d-electron shell and are characterized by high ductility, and electrical and thermal conductivity.

Metal

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Material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well.

A metal in the form of a gravy boat made from stainless steel, an alloy largely composed of iron, carbon, and chromium

A metal rod with a hot-worked eyelet. Hot-working exploits the capacity of metal to be plastically deformed.

Samples of babbitt metal, an alloy of tin, antimony, and copper, used in bearings to reduce friction

A sculpture cast in nickel silver—an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc that looks like silver

Rhodium, a noble metal, shown here as 1 g of powder, a 1 g pressed cylinder, and a 1 g pellet

A sample of diaspore, an aluminum oxide hydroxide mineral, α-AlO(OH)

A neodymium compound alloy magnet of composition Nd2Fe14B on a nickel-iron bracket from a computer hard drive

A pile of compacted steel scraps, ready for recycling

The Artemision Bronze showing either Poseidon or Zeus, c. 460 BCE, National Archaeological Museum, Athens. The figure is more than 2 m in height.

A disc of highly enriched uranium that was recovered from scrap processed at the Y-12 National Security Complex, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

White-hot steel pours like water from a 35-ton electric furnace, at the Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corporation, in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania.

A Ho-Mg-Zn icosahedral quasicrystal formed as a pentagonal dodecahedron, the dual of the icosahedron

Body-centered cubic crystal structure, with a 2-atom unit cell, as found in e.g. chromium, iron, and tungsten

Face-centered cubic crystal structure, with a 4-atom unit cell, as found in e.g. aluminum, copper, and gold

Hexagonal close-packed crystal structure, with a 6-atom unit cell, as found in e.g. titanium, cobalt, and zinc

Niobium crystals and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} anodized niobium cube for comparison

Molybdenum crystals and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} molybdenum cube for comparison

Tantalum single crystal, some crystalline fragments, and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} tantalum cube for comparison

Tungsten rods with evaporated crystals, partially oxidized with colorful tarnish, and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} tungsten cube for comparison

alt=Three, dark broccoli shaped clumps of oxidised lead with grossly distended buds, and a cube of lead which has a dull silvery appearance.| oxidised lead

alt=A silvery molasses-like liquid being poured into a circular container with a height equivalent to a smaller coin on its edge| Mercury being

Electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, was often used for making coins. Shown is the Roman god Apollo, and on the obverse, a Delphi tripod (circa 310–305 BCE).

A plate made of pewter, an alloy of 85–99% tin and (usually) copper. Pewter was first used around the beginning of the Bronze Age in the Near East.

A pectoral (ornamental breastplate) made of tumbaga, an alloy of gold and copper

Arsenic, sealed in a container to prevent tarnishing

Bismuth in crystalline form, with a very thin oxidation layer, and a 1 cm{{sup|3}} bismuth cube

Potassium pearls under paraffin oil. Size of the largest pearl is 0.5 cm.

Aluminum chunk, 2.6 grams, {{nowrap|1=1 x 2 cm}}

Scandium, including a 1 cm{{sup|3}} cube

Lutetium, including a 1 cm{{sup|3}} cube

The elemental metals have electrical conductivity values of from 6.9 × 103 S/cm for manganese to 6.3 × 105 S/cm for silver.

Zinc

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Chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30.

Late Roman brass bucket – the Hemmoorer Eimer from Warstade, Germany, second to third century AD

Various alchemical symbols for the element zinc

Andreas Sigismund Marggraf is given credit for first isolating pure zinc

Galvanization was named after Luigi Galvani.

Percentage of zinc output in 2006 by countries

Hot-dip handrail galvanized crystalline surface

Cast brass microstructure at magnification 400x

Zinc oxide is used as a white pigment in paints.

GNC zinc 50 mg tablets. The amount exceeds what is deemed the safe upper limit in the United States (40 mg) and European Union (25 mg)

Zinc gluconate is one compound used for the delivery of zinc as a dietary supplement.

Ribbon diagram of human carbonic anhydrase II, with zinc atom visible in the center

Other metals long known to form binary alloys with zinc are aluminium, antimony, bismuth, gold, iron, lead, mercury, silver, tin, magnesium, cobalt, nickel, tellurium, and sodium.

Chemical element

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Species of atoms that have a given number of protons in their nuclei, including the pure substance consisting only of that species.

$Estimated distribution of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. Only the fraction of the mass and energy in the universe labeled "atoms" is composed of chemical elements.$

Periodic table showing the cosmogenic origin of each element in the Big Bang, or in large or small stars. Small stars can produce certain elements up to sulfur, by the alpha process. Supernovae are needed to produce "heavy" elements (those beyond iron and nickel) rapidly by neutron buildup, in the r-process. Certain large stars slowly produce other elements heavier than iron, in the s-process; these may then be blown into space in the off-gassing of planetary nebulae

Abundances of the chemical elements in the Solar System. Hydrogen and helium are most common, from the Big Bang. The next three elements (Li, Be, B) are rare because they are poorly synthesized in the Big Bang and also in stars. The two general trends in the remaining stellar-produced elements are: (1) an alternation of abundance in elements as they have even or odd atomic numbers (the Oddo-Harkins rule), and (2) a general decrease in abundance as elements become heavier. Iron is especially common because it represents the minimum energy nuclide that can be made by fusion of helium in supernovae.

Mendeleev's 1869 periodic table: An experiment on a system of elements. Based on their atomic weights and chemical similarities.

Only a minority of elements, such as silver and gold, are found uncombined as relatively pure native element minerals.

Alloy

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Mixture of chemical elements of which at least one is a metal.

Liquid bronze, being poured into molds during casting

Allotropes of iron, (alpha iron and gamma iron) showing the differences in atomic arrangement

Photomicrographs of steel. Top photo: Annealed (slowly cooled) steel forms a heterogeneous, lamellar microstructure called pearlite, consisting of the phases cementite (light) and ferrite (dark). Bottom photo: Quenched (quickly cooled) steel forms a single phase called martensite, in which the carbon remains trapped within the crystals, creating internal stresses

Different atomic mechanisms of alloy formation, showing pure metal, substitutional, interstitial, and a combination of the two

A meteorite and a hatchet that was forged from meteoric iron

Electrum, a natural alloy of silver and gold, was often used for making coins

Puddling in China, circa 1637. Opposite to most alloying processes, liquid pig-iron is poured from a blast furnace into a container and stirred to remove carbon, which diffuses into the air forming carbon dioxide, leaving behind a mild steel to wrought iron

Examples of alloys include red gold (gold and copper) white gold (gold and silver), sterling silver (silver and copper), steel or silicon steel (iron with non-metallic carbon or silicon respectively), solder, brass, pewter, duralumin, bronze, and amalgams.

Precious metal

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Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value.

500 g silver bullion bar produced by Johnson Matthey

Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium each have an ISO 4217 currency code.

Silver nitrate

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Inorganic compound with chemical formula.

Silver coordination environment in the crystal structure of silver nitrate

Micrograph showing a silver nitrate (brown) marked surgical margin.

This salt is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography.

An oxhide ingot from Crete. Late Bronze Age metal ingots were given standard shapes, such as the shape of an "ox-hide", suggesting that they represented standardized values.

Coin

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Small, flat, round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender.

Coin of Alyattes of Lydia. Circa 620/10-564/53 BCE.

The earliest inscribed coinage: electrum coin of Phanes from Ephesus, 625–600 BCE. Obverse: Stag grazing right, ΦΑΝΕΩΣ (retrograde). Reverse: Two incuse punches, each with raised intersecting lines.

A siglos found in the Kabul valley, 5th century BCE. Coins of this type were also found in the Bhir Mound hoard.

Silver stater of Aegina, 550–530 BCE. Obv. Sea turtle with large pellets down centre. Rev. incuse square punch with eight sections.

Athens coin (circa 500/490–485 BCE) discovered in the Shaikhan Dehri hoard in Pushkalavati, Ancient India. This coin is the earliest known example of its type to be found so far east.

The Achaemenid Empire Satraps and Dynasts in Asia Minor developed the usage of portraiture from circa 420 BCE. Portrait of the Satrap of Lydia, Tissaphernes (c.445–395 BCE).

Hoard of mostly Mauryan Empire coins, 3rd century BCE.

Chinese round coins, Eastern Zhou dynasty – Warring States Period. Circa 300–220 BCE. Four Hua (四化, 30mm, 6.94 g). Legend Yi Si Hua ([City of] Yi Four Hua).

Alexander the Great Tetradrachm from the Temnos Mint, dated circa 188–170 BCE

$Five million mark coin (Weimar Republic, 1923). Despite its high denomination, this coin's monetary value dropped to a tiny fraction of a US cent by the end of 1923, substantially less than the value of its metallic content.$

A silver coin made during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Alamgir II

A Swiss ten-cent coin from 1879, similar to the oldest coins still in official use today

French 1992 twenty Franc Tri-Metallic coin

Bimetallic Egyptian one pound coin featuring King Tutankhamen

3 Rubles proof coin of Russia, minted in 2008

Holographic coin from Liberia features the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World)

An American Silver Eagle minted in 2019 (left), an example of a Bullion coin. Its obverse design is based on the older, formerly circulating silver Walking Liberty half dollar (right).

The Piloncitos are tiny engraved gold coins found in the Philippines, along with the barter rings, which are gold ring-like ingots. These barter rings are bigger than doughnuts in size and are made of pure gold from the Archaic period (c. 10th to 16th century).

Punch-marked coin minted in the Kabul Valley under Achaemenid administration. Circa 500–380 BCE, or c.350 BCE.<ref name="CNG 309874">"Extremely Rare Early Silver from the Kabul Valley", CNG 102, Lot:649, CNG Coins</ref>

Gandharan "bent-bar" punch-marked coin minted under Achaemenid administration, of the type found in large quantities in the Chaman Hazouri and the Bhir Mound hoards.

Early punch-marked coins of Gandhara, Taxila-Gandhara region.

Coin of Phaselis, Lycia. Circa 550–530/20 BCE.

Lycia coin. Circa 520-470 BCE. Struck with worn obverse die.<ref>{{cite book|title=CNG: LYCIA. Circa 520–470/60 BCE. AR Stater (18mm, 9.18 g).|url=https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=347325}}</ref>

Coin of Lesbos, Ionia. Circa 510–80 BCE.

Aegina coin type, incuse skew pattern. Circa 456/45–431 BCE.

Coin of Akanthos, Macedon, circa 470-430 BCE.

Coin of Aspendos, Pamphylia, circa 465–430 BCE.

Coin from Korkyra, circa 350/30–290/70 BCE.

Coin of Themistocles as Governor of Magnesia. Obv: Barley grain. Rev: Possible portrait of Themistocles. Circa 465–459 BC.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=308695| title = CNG: IONIA, Magnesia ad Maeandrum. Themistokles. Circa 465-459 BC. AR Hemiobol (7mm, 0.37 g, 1h)}}</ref>

Portrait of Lycian ruler Kherei wearing the Persian cap on the reverse of his coins (ruled 410–390 BCE).

Portrait of Lycian ruler Erbbina wearing the Persian cap on the reverse of his coins (ruled 390–380 BCE).

Portrait of Lycian ruler Perikles facing (ruled 380-360 BCE).

Seleucus Nicator (312–281 BCE), Ai Khanoum.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=338684| title = CNG Coin 338684}}</ref>

Bilingual coin of Indo-Greek king Antialcidas (105–95 BCE).

Bilingual coin of Agathocles of Bactria with Hindu deities, circa 180 BCE.

Sestertius of Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus, AD 238

Set of three Roman aurei depicting the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Top to bottom: Vespasian, Titus and Domitian, 69-96 CE

Silver Drachma of Mehrdad (Mithridates I) of Persian Empire of Parthia, 165 BCE

Lombardic Tremissis depicting Saint Michael, 688-700 CE

Silver coin of Borandukht of Persian Sassanian Empire, 629 CE

Silver Dirham of the Umayyad Caliphate, 729 CE; minted by using Persian Sassanian framework

Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel Thaler minted in 1629

Japanese local currency Genbun Inari Koban Kin, c. 1736–1741

1768 silver Spanish Dollar, or eight reales coin (the “piece of eight” of pirate fame), minted throughout the Spanish Empire

One Rupee coin issued by the East India Company, 1835

Silver coin of the Bengal Sultanate ruler Jalaluddin Muhammad

Modern-day coins of different metals, popular among collectors, part of hobby.

Exceptions to the rule of face value being higher than content value also occur for some bullion coins made of copper, silver, or gold (and, rarely, other metals, such as platinum or palladium), intended for collectors or investors in precious metals.