Silver standards
Encyclopedia
Silver standards refer to the standards of millesimal fineness
for the silver alloy used in the manufacture or crafting of silver objects. This list is organized from highest to lowest millesimal fineness, or purity of the silver.
Millesimal fineness
Millesimal fineness is a system of denoting the purity of platinum, gold and silver alloys by parts per thousand of pure metal by mass in the alloy. For example, an alloy containing 75% gold is denoted as "750". Many European countries use decimal hallmark stamps Millesimal fineness is a system of...
for the silver alloy used in the manufacture or crafting of silver objects. This list is organized from highest to lowest millesimal fineness, or purity of the silver.
- Fine silver has a millesimal fineness of 999. Also called pure silver, or three nines fineNine (purity)Nines are an informal, yet common method of grading the purity of very fine precious metals such as platinum, gold and silver. Based on the system of millesimal fineness, a metal is said to be one nine or one nine fine if it is 900 fine, or 90% pure. A metal that is 990 fine is then described as...
, fine silver contains 99.9% silver, with the balance being trace amounts of impurities. This grade of silver is used to make bullion bars for international commodities trading and investment in silverSilver as an investmentSilver, like other precious metals, may be used as an investment. For more than four thousand years, silver has been regarded as a form of money and store of value. However, since the end of the silver standard, silver has lost its role as legal tender in many developed countries such as the...
. In the modern world, fine silver is understood to be too soft for general use.
- Britannia silverBritannia silverBritannia silver is an alloy of silver containing 95.84% silver, with the balance usually copper.This standard was introduced in England by Act of Parliament in 1697 to replace sterling silver as the obligatory standard for items of "wrought plate"...
has a millesimal fineness of at least 958. The alloy is 95.84% pure silver and 4.16 per cent copper or other metals. The Britannia standard was developed in BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1697 to help prevent British sterling silver coins from being melted to make silver plate. It was obligatory in Britain between 1697 and 1720, when the sterling silver standard was restored. It became an optional standard thereafter.
- Mexican silver has a millesimal fineness of 950. The Mexican silver alloy is 95% pure silver and 5 per cent copper or other metals. From 1930 to 1945, Mexican silver had a millesimal fineness of 980.
- The French 1st standard has a milessimal fineness of 950. The French 1st alloy is 95 % silver and 5 per cent copper or other metals.
- 91 zolotnik Russian silver has a millesimal fineness of 947[9]. The zolotnik (Russian золотник, from the Russian zoloto, or золото, meaning gold) was used in Russia as early as the 11th century to denote the weight of gold coins. In its earliest usage, the zolotnik was 1/96 of a pound, but it later was changed to represent 1/72 of a pound. Ninety-one (91) zolotniks have the equivalent millesimal fineness of 947[9]. Thus, the alloy contains 94.79 % pure silver and 5.21 per cent copper or other metals.
- Sterling silverSterling silverSterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by mass of silver and 7.5% by mass of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925....
has a millesimal fineness of 925. The sterling silver alloy is 92.5 % pure silver and 7.5 per cent copper or other metals.
- 88 zolotnik Russian silver has the equivalent millesimal fineness of 916[6]. The alloy contains 91.66 % pure silver and 8.34 per cent copper or other metals. (See above for description of the zolotnik.)
- Coin silver has a millesimal fineness of 900. The term "coin silver" was derived from the fact that much of it was made from melting down silver coins. It is important here to note that there are differences between the coin silver standard and the coin silver alloy, as actually used in making silver objects. The coin silver standard in the United States was 90% silver and 10% copper, as dictated by US FTCFederal Trade CommissionThe Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
guidelines. However, in silversmithing, coins could come from other nations besides the United States, and thus coin silver objects could vary from 750 millesimal fineness (75 % silver) to 900 (90 % silver). Coins were used as a source of silver in the US until 1868, shortly after the discovery of the Comstock silver lodesComstock LodeThe Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...
in Nevada, which provided a significant source of silver. Around this time the sterling standard was adopted by the American silver industry.
- 84 zolotnik Russian silver has the equivalent millesimal fineness of 875. The alloy contains 87.5 % pure silver and 12.5 % copper or other metals. (See above for description of the zolotnik.)
- Scandinavian silver has a millesimal fineness of 830. The Scandinavian silver alloy contains 83 % pure silver and 17 % copper or other metals.
- German silver (not to be confused with nickel silverNickel silverNickel silver, also known as German silver, Argentann, new silver, nickel brass, albata,, or alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver...
, which is also referred to by this same term) has a millesimal fineness of 800. It is one of several silver standards used in Germany, and has been in use since 1884. The alloy is 80% pure silver and 20 % copper or other metals.
- Egyptian silver is identical to German silver, described above.