THE ALLURE OF SILVER!
Posted Date: 01 June 2012
Silver is a precious metal and is much sought for varying reasons, such as an investment, or for jewellery. But there are many things people do not know about silver and are sometimes surprised by. It is these facts that make silver ‘precious’.
For instance, did you know that silver is an anti bacterial material. The Romans stored wine and water in silver vessels to keep it safe. A similar thing was done by sailors up to the end of the 19th century, who used to put silver coins in water barrels and keep it disease free. It is added to medical plasters to fend off infection. Some people even take colloidal silver suspended in a water solution to fend off colds in the winter. Even more surprising is that silver nanoparticles can be found in clothing, in particular socks! The reason being it is anti fungal.
Also, silver is used a great deal in technology, as it is the most thermally conductive metal in existence. Silver also has the lowest contact resistance of any metal, meaning that it is a applied in electronic super conductors.
Silver has been mined in southern American countries such as Mexico, Bolivia and Peru since 1546 and are still major producers. Other silver producing countries include China, Australia, Poland and Serbia.
Silver has been used as currency for thousands of years. The term ‘pound’ originally referred to a troy pound of silver. Today the price of silver remains high as it is a ‘safe haven’ and hedge against turmoil in the financial world. On this basis, we can expect silver to remain a sought after commodity for a while to come. For more on silver, why not visit Mctears TV where I highlight a few of this month’s silver items.
Happy bidding!
Hamish talks about silver at McTear's TV
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