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STERLING

Sterling silver is .925 fine. This mixture of pure silver and copper has long been regarded for its fine beauty.

A lion or leopard stamped into silver signifies sterling. In the United States the word sterling is usually stamped into the piece. All new sterling is marked or punched to signify its credibility.

COIN SILVER

Quite often a piece of jewelry or a watch case will be marked coin silver or .900. This means the piece is 90% silver and 10% other metal. At one time this was the standard content of silver coins. Thus the name "coin silver" is synonymous with percentage of silver content. Often actual coins were melted to make silver items.

SILVER PLATE

A method of silver plating was discovered in 1742 by Thomas Boulsover. While repairing a knife blade, he accidentally fused silver to copper. This accident was the beginning of the Sheffield Plate Industry in England.

In 1840, G.R. Elkington was granted a patent on a process for electroplating silver or gold to a base metal. This process uses electricity to apply a coating of silver to an article made of base metal, although this coating is usually very thin.

GERMAN SILVER

The, term German Silver is a misnomer. German silver is not silver at all but a combination of nickel, copper, and zinc. A German introduced it to England in the late 1700's. Because its color resembles silver, it made a perfect base for silver plated items, hence the name German Silver. To confuse matters even more it is also known as gunmetal or nickel silver.

When a piece is marked E.P.N.S., it is electroplated nickel silver.