The symbol is based on the widely used alchemical symbol for silver. In the background is a detail from the ‘Gundestrup Cauldron’, the largest known example of European Iron Age silver work.

Fact Box

Uses

Sterling silver contains 92.5% silver. The rest is copper or some other metal. It is used for jewellery and silver tableware, where appearance is important.

Silver is used to make mirrors, as it is the best reflector of visible light known, although it does tarnish with time. It is also used in dental alloys, solder and brazing alloys, electrical contacts and batteries. Silver paints are used for making printed circuits.

Silver bromide and iodide were important in the history of photography, because of their sensitivity to light. Even with the rise of digital photography, silver salts are still important in producing high-quality images and protecting against illegal copying. Light-sensitive glass (such as photochromic lenses) works on similar principles. It darkens in bright sunlight and becomes transparent in low sunlight.

Silver has antibacterial properties and silver nanoparticles are used in clothing to prevent bacteria from digesting sweat and forming unpleasant odours. Silver threads are woven into the fingertips of gloves so that they can be used with touchscreen phones.

History

Slag heaps near ancient mine workings in Turkey and Greece prove that silver mining started around 3000 BC. The metal was refined by cupellation, a process invented by the Chaldeans, who lived in what is now southern Iraq. It consisted of heating the molten metal in a shallow cup over which blew a strong draft of air. This oxidised the other metals, such as lead and copper, leaving only silver unaffected.

The rise of Athens was made possible partly through the exploitation of local silver mines at Laurium. These operated from 600 BC and right through the Roman era. In Medieval times, German mines became the main source of silver in Europe.

Silver was also mined by the ancient civilizations of Central and South America there being rich deposits in Peru, Bolivia and Mexico.