Silver standards refer to the standards of

millesimal fineness The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardn ...

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 The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardn ...

'' has a millesimal fineness of 999. Also called pure silver, or three nines fine, 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 silver. In the modern world, fine silver is understood to be too soft for general use. * ''

Britannia silver Britannia silver is an alloy of silver containing 11 ozt 10 dwt (i.e. 11½ troy oz.) silver in the pound troy, equivalent to , or 95.833% by weight (mass) silver, the rest usually being copper. This standard was introduced in England by Act of ...

'' has a millesimal fineness of at least 958. The alloy is 95.84% pure silver and 4.16% copper or other metals. The Britannia standard was developed in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1697 to help prevent British sterling silver coins from being melted to make

silver plate Plating is a surface covering in which a metal is deposited on a conductive surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improv ...

. It was obligatory in Britain between 1697 and 1720, when the sterling silver standard was restored. It became an optional standard thereafter. * The ''French 1st standard'' has a milessimal fineness of 950. The French 1st alloy is 95% silver and 5% copper or other metals. * ''91 zolotnik Russian silver'' has a millesimal fineness of 947. The

zolotnik A zolotnik (in Russian: золотни́к; abbr.: zol.) was a small Russian unit of weight, equal to 0.1505 avoirdupois ounces, or 4.2658 grams (about 65.83 grains). Used from the 10th to 20th centuries, its name is derived from the Russian word ...

(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 Thus, the alloy contains 94.79% pure silver and 5.21% copper or other metals. * ''

Sterling silver Sterling silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925. ''Fine silver'', which is 99.9% pure silver, is r ...

'' has a millesimal fineness of 925. The sterling silver alloy is 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper or other metals. This alloy was used by the United Kingdom from the early 12th century, and Canada, Australia and other countries associated with the British Empire (and later Commonwealth) from the 19th century up to the mid-20th century when debasement took place; Sterling silver’s copper content means that it has a stronger tendency to tarnish than other alloys used in coins. *Following a program of debasements in the early-to-mid 20th century, circulating Canadian coinage (with the exception of the nickel) had a millesimal fineness of 800 until 1968. The alloy used contained 80% silver and 20% copper. * ''88 zolotnik Russian silver'' has the equivalent millesimal fineness of 916 The alloy contains 91.66% pure silver and 8.34% copper or other metals. (The description of the zolotnik is above.) * ''

Coin silver The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardn ...

'' 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 FTC 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 lodes 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.) * ' has a millesimal fineness of 830. The Scandinavian silver alloy contains 83% pure silver and 17% copper or other metals. * ''German silver'' will be marked with a millesimal fineness of 800 or 835 (80% or 83.5% pure silver). Any items simply marked "German silver", "

nickel silver Nickel silver, Maillechort, German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the eleme ...

" or "Alpaca" have no silver content at all, but are mere alloys of other base metals. * ''Decoplata'' has the equivalent millesimal fineness of 720. The alloy contains 72% pure silver and 28% copper. It was used by a number of countries between the 19th century and the present, but it is most associated with coins made in Mexico and the Netherlands in the mid-20th Century.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite book , author = Marina Bowater , title = Collecting Russian art & antiques , url = https://archive.org/details/collectingrussia00mari , url-access = registration , date = 31 December 1990 , publisher = Hippocrene Books , isbn = 978-0-87052-897-2 , page
96
{{cite book , author1 = Anna Somers Cocks , author2 = Charles Truman , author2-link = Charles Truman , author3 = Sammlung Thyssen-Bornemisza , title = Renaissance jewels, gold boxes, and objets de vertu , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9xVJAQAAIAAJ , year = 1984 , publisher = Sotheby Publications , page = 348 , isbn = 9780856671722 {{cite book , author1 = Anna Somers Cocks , author2 = Charles Truman , author2-link = Charles Truman , author3 = Sammlung Thyssen-Bornemisza , title = Renaissance jewels, gold boxes, and objets de vertu , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9xVJAQAAIAAJ , year = 1984 , publisher = Sotheby Publications , page = 356 , isbn = 9780856671722 {{cite book , last1 = Eddy , first1 = C. , last2 = Evans , first2 = R. , last3 = Feld , first3 = K. , title = Beaded Jewelry: Wirework Techniques: Skills, Tools, and Materials for Making Handcrafted Jewelry. A Storey BASICSÂ® Title , publisher = Storey Publishing, LLC , series = Storey Basics , year = 2015 , isbn = 978-1-61212-485-8 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=0dnGAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 , access-date = 4 February 2018 , page = 8 {{cite book , title = Magazine Antiques , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AH4XAQAAMAAJ , volume = 56 , year = 1949 , publisher = Straight Enterprises, Incorporated , page = 227 {{cite book , author1 = Dorothy T. Rainwater , author2 = Judy Redfield , title = Encyclopedia of American silver manufacturers , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6_oJAQAAMAAJ , date = 1 September 1998 , publisher = Schiffer Pub. , isbn = 978-0-7643-0602-0 , page = 405 {{cite book , author1 = Haydn Williams , author2 = Julia Clarke , title = Enamels of the world, 1700–2000: the Khalili collections , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JLNJAQAAIAAJ , date = 31 December 2008 , publisher = Khalili Family Trust , page = 431 , isbn = 9781874780175

External links

A Small Collection of Antique Silver and Objects of vertu

Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks, Hallmarks & Maker's Marks
Silver Metallurgy