All You Ever Wanted to Know About Silver, Silver Marks, the Purity of Silver Alloys, and How To Tell Them Apart
You see a piece of silver jewelry at a yard sale or thrift shop! It looks like sterling silver but you aren’t sure. You don’t want something that will irritate your skin if you’re allergic to nickel. And you’d rather buy precious metal jewelry than costume stuff. Here are some tips to help you identify hidden treasures and avoid cheap imitations. We’ll start with sterling silver, what it is, and how it’s marked::
Silver marks and what they mean:
Sterling Silver
If you see the words “Sterling” or “Sterling Silver” on a piece of jewelry, you’re safe to assume your piece is authentic sterling silver.
But did you know that the marks “.925” or “92.5” also indicate sterling silver? That’s right. Sterling is not pure silver. It’s an alloy that contains a small amount of copper (7.5%) to increase its strength. So in addition to the words Sterling and Sterling Silver, you can rest assured that items marked 92.5 or .925 are of equal quality.
Fine Silver
FINE SILVER is virtually pure and is marked “.999” or “Fine Silver“. It is softer than sterling and tarnishes more easily because it doesn’t contain copper to give it added hardness. It is best for making jewelry that won’t be subjected to a lot of wear and tear — things like earrings, brooches, pendants, and bracelet charms, as compared to rings. Fine silver is also frequently used to make silver bullion coins.
About 30 years ago Mitzubishi (yes, the car maker) started a creative revolution when it began producing and marketing Precious Metal Clay. Fine Silver Clay was their first product. Since then metal clays of all types have been developed, from steel to bronze, but silver clay continues to dominate the market.
Silver Alloys
Here are some alloys, other than sterling, to be aware of.
.960 SILVER Jewelers who work with metal clay often mix equal parts of Fine Silver clay with Sterling Silver clay. This jewelry is marked “.960” to indicate its purity. It is a perfect combination that offers two benefits. The first is added strength. The copper in the sterling clay makes .960 stronger than fine silver clay alone. This makes it more durable and enables it to maintain its shine longer after polishing.
The second benefit is technical and has to do with sintering. This is the process of heating the clay to the point where the minute particles of silver it contains fuse and form a solid mass, bonding together without melting. Fine Silver is easy to sinter. It can be heated in a kiln without worrying about oxidation (reactions between oxygen in the atmosphere and elements in the clay). Copper makes things trickier. It is prone to oxidation, which prevents metal particles from bonding. Copper and copper-bearing alloys, including sterling silver, must be fired in containers filled with activated charcoal, which reduces the amount of oxygen in the kiln. Fortunately, there isn’t enough copper in .960 to make that necessary. It can be fired in an open kiln just like Ffine Silver.
BRITANNIA SILVER This alloy is 95.83% silver, which makes it purer than Sterling but less pure than Fine Silver and .960. It has been in and out of use in Britain since the 1600s. It was used between 1997 and 2012, in England, to make 1-ounce silver coins but since 2013 it has been replaced with Fine Silver (.999). It is marked either “.953“ or may bear the stamp of a lion or a standing queen. You are unlikely to find it in a treasure hunt for silver jewelry.
COIN SILVER was obtained by melting silver coins and was primarily used for making silver spoons and forks in the 18th & 19th centuries. It contains 90% silver. It is typically unmarked and is not likely to be found in jewelry.
OTHER SILVER ALLOYS, less pure than Sterling, were commonly used in Europe. You may find jewelry made from these materials. They are marked either “.825” or “.800“, indicating the number of parts silver out of 1000.
Silver Plate & Silver Filled
ELECTROPLATED NICKEL SILVER: Silver-plated items will bear the mark EPNS if the base metal is nickel silver. (See Nickel Silver, below.)
SILVER PLATE: Items marked simply as “silverplate” have a thin coating of silver over another base metal, often copper or brass. The thickness of the silver layer in silverplate items is not standardized and can vary widely.
SILVER FILLED is a relatively new kid on the block. It is marked “.925 F”. Unlike plated silver, which has a thin layer of silver bonded to a base metal, silver-filled pieces start with a core of non-precious metal which is surrounded by a thick layer of Sterling Silver. It is less expensive to produce and is difficult to distinguish from sterling silver (except by weight and volume). In recent years some jewelry makers have started using it to keep from raising their prices. It will not retain its value the way sterling silver does but it is an interesting option for people who like sterling silver jewelry but can’t afford its rising prices.
Silver Look-Alikes
GERMAN SILVER or NICKEL SILVER are both names for the same alloy, which looks like silver but doesn’t contain any. It is an alloy made from copper, nickel, and zinc. Items made of this substance are marked “Nickel Silver”. It is sometimes used as a base metal for silver-plating.
ALPACA: While it is sometimes referenced as “new silver,” this gray-colored alloy has only 2% silver content mixed with copper, zinc, and nickel. Items of Mexican or South American origin emulating silver can be found with the Alpaca mark. Alpaca does not polish to a high shine like sterling silver. It can also be used as a base for silver-plating.
Non-Tarnishing Silver
Before we leave this subject, we should touch on silver alloys that never tarnish. If you like your silver to look like it just came out of the jewelry store, this may be something you want to investigate. Personally, I like the patina that comes with tarnish over time, but its not for everyone.
Silver Testing You Can Do
If you aren’t able to find any marks, there are a few tests that can help you identify whether the metal you’re looking at is silver.
MAGNET TEST – One test requires nothing by a good magnet. Silver is not attracted to magnets. If something looks silver but sticks to a magnet, you know for sure that it is not silver. It’s a good idea to keep a magnet in your wallet or you car so you can do this test wherever you happen to be treasure hunting.
ICE CUBE TEST – Silver conducts heat and cold better than any other metal. One of the most definitive tests for silver looks at this attribute. Place an ice cube on the surface of a silver item. If the item is genuine silver, the ice will melt almost immediately, much faster than on other metals or non-metal surfaces.
BLEACH TEST – Sterling silver reacts with harsh chemicals, including bleach, by tarnishing rapidly. By applying a small drop of bleach to an inconspicuous area of the item, genuine silver will tarnish almost immediately, while non-silver metals will not. This test should be done with caution, as it will likely permanently tarnish the spot on the silver item.
ACID TESTS – Inexpensive test kits are available that give you accurate results on silver (including coin silver), different karat golds, and platinum. Not all fine metal jewelry is marked, and some look-alikes can fool you, so sometimes an acid test is necessary to be sure what metal you are looking at.
Happy hunting!
I hope these tips make you feel like an expert next time you go treasure hunting! Good luck!!