Of all the valuable metals, silver remains one the most well-known, and has been recognized for its role in monetary systems for centuries. There is a steady demand for silver, which helps make it a popular investment. But how much do you really know about the metal? Check out these interesting facts:
- The words for “silver” and “money” are the same in fourteen different languages.
- Silver has long been associated with the moon, along with several lunar goddesses in a variety of cultures. Because of this, alchemists referred to the metal by the name Lunar.
- Silver is the most reflective element, able to reflect 95 percent of the visible light spectrum. This property makes silver ideal in the manufacture of high-end mirrors, solar cells, telescopes, microscopes, and photographic film.
- The word “silver” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “seolfor.” No English word rhymes with silver.
- It’s estimated that there is 17 times more silver in the world than there is gold. About two-thirds of the silver mined across the world is a byproduct of mining for lead, copper, and zinc.
- Silver has antibacterial properties, which has led to an assortment of medicinal applications over the years (including the prevention of infection during World War I). Even better, bacteria do not develop an immunity to silver like they do to many manufactured antibiotics. One of the most common current medicinal uses is in the treatment of burn victims.
- Being a highly ductile metal, just one ounce of silver can be drawn into a wire measuring 8,000 feet long. A grain of silver (measuring about 65 mg) can be pressed into a sheet that’s 150 times thinner than an average sheet of paper.
- Some people who practice homeopathy drink colloidal silver for a variety of health complaints. However, over-consumption can result in a bluish hue to your skin.
- The saying “born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth” is commonly interpreted to mean that a child was born into wealth. But it’s origins came from feeding children with actual silver spoons because of the metal’s germ-killing properties. People of ancient civilizations also stored water, wine, and vinegar in silver bottles for the same reason.
- In some ancient cultures, silver was more valuable than gold. In modern society, the value of gold is quite a bit more than that of silver.
- Silver has been used in the weaponry of stories and legends for years. For example, the Lone Ranger rode a horse named Silver and shot silver bullets out of his gun, while silver bullets are a staple weapon in werewolf lore.
Silver has a pretty interesting, and sometimes strange, history. And there’s no telling how many more uses we will develop for the metal in the future. For fans of the strange, you might enjoy adding the Yeager 1 oz Poured Silver Skull to your collection.
What other strange facts about silver are in your wheelhouse of knowledge?
Such a great piece of content! I believe that Any jewelry company can create various designs with silver rather than gold jewelry. This is because silver is more abundant that gold—and it also means there are more designs for silver accessories!
There is something about silver that draws you in . I don’t know if it’s the shine or maybe that wonderful ping sound it makes . Silver iodide has been used to seed clouds to make it rain & in attempts to control hurricanes . Awww silver you great wonder of the world . Unfortunately for now you have to live in the shadow of gold.
Peace , Love & Happiness
Leon / KY
When I took Microbiology in college, we had a petre dish that we grew bacteria in. We placed a 90% silver dime in the center of the dish. In a couple of days the bacteria around the dime was dead due to the bacteriostatic properties of the silver. That experiment stuck out in my mind that silver is such an amazing element.
Very cool!
Silver does occur in the native state. Not common, but it does exist.
Cool stuff!!! I’ve always been more fascinated with silver than with gold, tho a lot of people would of course “value” you more if you have lots of the yellow thing. 🙂
> In some ancient cultures, silver was more valuable than gold.
I was born (reincarnated?) out of time, because I can’t for the life of me figure out why gold is more valuable than silver. If memory serves me, I believe Provident had an old blog entry stating that there was less silver on the planet than gold. Then factor in the higher commercial & medicinal demand and the fact that silver coins & jewelry look nicer than their gold counterparts (IMO), and I just don’t get why the silver/gold ratio is hovering around 75 (i.e. the price of 1ozt gold = the price of 75ozt silver). Seems it should be the opposite to me.
But then, there was a time when salt was more valuable than either, too; so times do change.
I love the photo of the miner holding up the silver nugget.
Fun Fact:
Silver “nuggets” do not exist in nature. Only by a fairly complex extraction process from silver bearing ore can silver be isolated and refined.
That’s really interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Silver oxide is conductive.
Cool fact!