Silver: Difference between revisions

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{{about|the chemical element}}

'''Silver''' is a [[chemical element]] in the [[periodic table]] that has the symbol Ag and [[atomic number]] 47.

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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}

{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}

{{Infobox silver|engvar=en-GB}}

'''Silver''' is a [[chemical element]]; it has [[Symbol (chemistry)|symbol]] '''Ag''' ({{etymology|la|{{wikt-lang|la|argentum}}|silver}}) and [[atomic number]] 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous [[transition metal]], it exhibits the highest [[electrical conductivity]], [[thermal conductivity]], and [[reflectivity]] of any [[metal]].<ref>{{Cite dictionary |entry=Silver |last=Poole |first=Charles P. Jr. |year= 2004 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXwrqM2hU0EC&q=silver|title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Condensed Matter Physics |publisher=Academic Press |page=1215 |isbn=978-0-08-054523-3}}</ref> Silver is found in the Earth's crust in the pure, free elemental form ("[[native metal|native]] silver"), as an [[alloy]] with [[gold]] and other metals, and in minerals such as [[argentite]] and [[chlorargyrite]]. Most silver is produced as a byproduct of [[copper]], gold, [[lead]], and [[zinc]] [[Refining (metallurgy)|refining]].

Silver was long considered the second most precious metal, second to [[gold]].(symbol au.)

Silver has long been valued as a [[precious metal]], commonly sold and marketed beside gold and [[platinum]]. Silver metal is used in many [[bullion coin]]s, sometimes [[bimetallism|alongside gold]]: while it is more abundant than gold, it is much less abundant as a [[native metal]]. Its purity is typically measured on a [[per-mille]] basis; a 94%-pure alloy is described as "0.940 fine". As one of the seven [[metals of antiquity]], silver has had an enduring role in most human cultures. In terms of [[scarcity]], silver is the most abundant of the big three precious metals—[[Platinum as an investment|platinum]], gold, and silver—among these, platinum is the rarest with around 139 [[Troy weight|troy ounces]] of silver mined for every one ounce of platinum.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-24 |title=How Rare is Platinum? - APMEX |url=https://learn.apmex.com/learning-guide/bullion/how-rare-is-platinum/ |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=learn.apmex.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Silver has high electrical and thermal conductivity; even better than copper, but its greater cost has prevented it being widely used in place of copper for electrical purposes.

Other than in [[currency]] and as an [[investment]] medium ([[coins]] and [[bullion]]), silver is used in [[solar panels]], [[water filtration]], [[jewellery]], ornaments, high-value tableware and utensils (hence the term "[[Silver (household)|silverware]]"), in [[electrical contact]]s and [[Electrical conductor|conductors]], in specialised mirrors, window coatings, in [[catalysis]] of chemical reactions, as a colorant in [[stained glass]], and in specialised confectionery. Its compounds are used in [[photographic film|photographic]] and [[X-ray]] film. Dilute solutions of [[silver nitrate]] and other silver compounds are used as [[disinfectant]]s and microbiocides ([[oligodynamic effect]]), added to [[bandage]]s, wound-dressings, [[catheter]]s, and other [[medical instrument]]s.

Principal uses of silver are as a precious metal, and [[halogen|halide]] salts of silver are used in [[photography]]

==Characteristics==

[[Image:1000oz.silver.bullion.bar.top.jpg|thumb|left|Silver bullion bar, 1000 ounces]]

[[File:Ag atomic wire.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Silver is extremely ductile and, like gold, can be drawn into a wire one atom wide.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.5772/62288 |isbn=978-953-51-2252-4 |chapter=Combined Transmission Electron Microscopy – In situ Observation of the Formation Process and Measurement of Physical Properties for Single Atomic-Sized Metallic Wires |author=Masuda, Hideki |title=Modern Electron Microscopy in Physical and Life Sciences |editor=Janecek, Milos |editor2=Kral, Robert |publisher=InTech |year=2016|s2cid=58893669 }}</ref>]]

Silver is similar in its physical and chemical properties to its two vertical neighbours in [[group 11 element|group 11]] of the [[periodic table]]: [[copper]], and [[gold]]. Its 47 electrons are arranged in the [[electron configuration|configuration]] [Kr]4d¹⁰5s¹, similarly to copper ([Ar]3d¹⁰4s¹) and gold ([Xe]4f¹⁴5d¹⁰6s¹); group 11 is one of the few groups in the [[d-block]] which has a completely consistent set of electron configurations.<ref name="Hammond-2004" /> This distinctive electron configuration, with a single electron in the highest occupied s [[Electron shell|subshell]] over a filled d subshell, accounts for many of the singular properties of metallic silver.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-5" />

Silver is a relatively soft and extremely [[Ductility|ductile]] and [[Malleability|malleable]] [[transition metal]], though it is slightly less malleable than gold. Silver crystallises in a [[face-centred cubic]] lattice with bulk coordination number 12, where only the single 5s electron is delocalised, similarly to copper and gold.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-6">Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 1178</ref> Unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in silver are lacking a [[covalent bond|covalent]] character and are relatively weak. This observation explains the low [[hardness]] and high ductility of [[monocrystalline|single crystals]] of silver.<ref name="Trigg-1992">{{cite book|author1=George L. Trigg|author2=Edmund H. Immergut|title=Encyclopedia of applied physics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sVQ5RAAACAAJ|access-date=2 May 2011|date=1992|publisher=VCH Publishers|isbn=978-3-527-28126-8|pages=267–72|volume=4: Combustion to Diamagnetism}}</ref>

Silver has a brilliant, white, metallic luster that can take a high [[polishing|polish]],<ref name="Austin, Alex-2007">{{cite book |title=The Craft of Silversmithing: Techniques, Projects, Inspiration |page=43 |author=Austin, Alex |isbn=978-1-60059-131-0 |date=2007 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.}}</ref> and which is so characteristic that the name of the metal itself has become a [[silver (color)|color name]].<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-5">Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 1177</ref> Protected silver has greater optical [[reflectivity]] than [[aluminium]] at all wavelengths longer than ~450&nbsp;nm.<ref name="Edwards-1936">{{cite journal|last1 = Edwards |first1=H.W. |last2 = Petersen |first2=R.P. |date = 1936|title = Reflectivity of evaporated silver films|journal = Physical Review |volume = 50|page=871|bibcode = 1936PhRv...50..871E|doi = 10.1103/PhysRev.50.871|issue = 9}}</ref> At wavelengths shorter than 450&nbsp;nm, silver's reflectivity is inferior to that of aluminium and drops to zero near 310&nbsp;nm.<ref name="Gemini Observatory">{{cite web |url=http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/telescopes-and-sites/optics/silver-vs-aluminum |title=Silver vs. Aluminum |access-date=1 August 2014 |publisher=Gemini Observatory}}</ref>

Very high electrical and thermal conductivity are common to the elements in group 11, because their single s electron is free and does not interact with the filled d subshell, as such interactions (which occur in the preceding transition metals) lower electron mobility.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Structure-Property Relations in Nonferrous Metals|first1=Alan M. |last1=Russell |first2=Kok Loong |last2= Lee |date=2005 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |___location=New York |isbn=9780471649526 |doi=10.1002/0471708542 |doi-access=free |page=302}}</ref> The [[thermal conductivity]] of silver is among the highest of all materials, although the thermal conductivity of [[carbon]] (in the [[diamond]] [[Allotropy|allotrope]]) and [[superfluid helium-4]] are higher.<ref name="Hammond-2004">{{cite book|last = Hammond|first = C. R.|title = The Elements, in Handbook of Chemistry and Physics|edition = 81st|publisher = CRC press|isbn = 978-0-8493-0485-9|year = 2004|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/crchandbookofche81lide}}</ref> The [[electrical conductivity]] of silver is the highest of all metals, greater even than copper. Silver also has the lowest [[contact resistance]] of any metal.<ref name="Hammond-2004" /> Silver is rarely used for its electrical conductivity, due to its high cost, although an exception is in [[radio-frequency engineering]], particularly at [[VHF]] and higher frequencies where silver plating improves electrical conductivity because those [[Skin effect|currents tend to flow on the surface of conductors]] rather than through the interior. During [[World War II]] in the US, {{gaps|13540}} tons of silver were used for the [[electromagnets]] in [[calutron]]s for enriching [[uranium]], mainly because of the wartime shortage of copper.<ref>{{cite book|last = Nichols |first=Kenneth D.|title = The Road to Trinity| page = 42|date =1987|___location = Morrow, NY|isbn = 978-0-688-06910-0|publisher = Morrow}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date = 11 September 2002 |url = http://www.tnengineering.net/AICHE/eastman-oakridge-young.htm |title = Eastman at Oak Ridge During World War II|last=Young |first=Howard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208054014/http://www.tnengineering.net/AICHE/eastman-oakridge-young.htm |archive-date=8 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title = Not invented here? Check your history|last = Oman|first = H.|journal = IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine|date = 1992|volume = 7|issue = 1|pages = 51–53|doi = 10.1109/62.127132|s2cid = 22674885}}</ref>

Silver readily forms [[alloy]]s with copper, gold, and [[zinc]]. Zinc-silver alloys with low zinc concentration may be considered as face-centred cubic solid solutions of zinc in silver, as the structure of the silver is largely unchanged while the electron concentration rises as more zinc is added. Increasing the electron concentration further leads to [[body-centred cubic]] (electron concentration 1.5), [[cubic crystal system|complex cubic]] (1.615), and [[hexagonal close-packed]] phases (1.75).<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-6" />

=== Isotopes ===

{{Main|Isotopes of silver}}

The [[isotope]] of silver <font size="-1">¹⁰⁷</font>Pd decays by emission to <font size="-1">¹⁰⁷</font>Ag with a [[half-life]] of 6.5 Myr. [[Iron]] [[meteorite]]s are the only objects with a high enough [[pallonium|Pd]]/Ag ratio to yield measurable variations in <font size="-1">¹⁰⁷</font>Ag abundance. [[Radiogenic]] <font size="-1">¹⁰⁷</font>Ag was first discovered in the [[Santa Clara, California|Sant Clara]] meteorite in [[1978]]. The discoverers suggest that the coalescence and differentiation of iron-cored small [[planet]]s may have occurred 10 Myr after a [[nucleosynthetic]] event. <font size="-1">¹⁰⁷</font>Pd versus Ag correlations observed in bodies, which have clearly been melted since [[accretion]] of the [[solar system]], must reflect the presence of live short-lived nuclides in the early solar system.

Naturally occurring silver is composed of two stable [[isotope]]s, ¹⁰⁷Ag and ¹⁰⁹Ag, with ¹⁰⁷Ag being slightly more abundant (51.839% [[natural abundance]]). This almost equal abundance is rare in the periodic table. The [[atomic weight]] is {{val|107.8682|(2)|ul=Da}};<ref name="Atomic Weights of the Elements 2007">{{cite web|access-date = 11 November 2009|url = http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iupac/AtWt/index.html|title = Atomic Weights of the Elements 2007 (IUPAC)|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170906114640/http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iupac/AtWt/index.html|archive-date = 6 September 2017|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date = 11 November 2009|url = http://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/Compositions/stand_alone.pl?ele=&ascii=html&isotype=some|title = Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions for All Elements (NIST)}}</ref> this value is very important because of the importance of silver compounds, particularly halides, in [[gravimetric analysis]].<ref name="Atomic Weights of the Elements 2007" /> Both isotopes of silver are produced in stars via the [[s-process]] (slow neutron capture), as well as in supernovas via the [[r-process]] (rapid neutron capture).<ref name="Cameron-1973">{{cite journal | last1 = Cameron |first1 = A.G.W. | year = 1973 | title = Abundance of the Elements in the Solar System | url = https://pubs.giss.nasa.gov/docs/1973/1973_Cameron_ca06310p.pdf | journal = Space Science Reviews | volume = 15 |issue = 1 | pages = 121–46 | doi = 10.1007/BF00172440 | bibcode = 1973SSRv...15..121C |s2cid = 120201972 }}</ref>

Twenty-eight [[radioisotope]]s have been characterised, the most stable being ¹⁰⁵Ag with a [[half-life]] of 41.29 days, ¹¹¹Ag with a half-life of 7.45 days, and ¹¹²Ag with a half-life of 3.13 hours. Silver has numerous [[nuclear isomer]]s, the most stable being ^108mAg (''t''_1/2 = 418 years), ^110mAg (''t''_1/2 = 249.79 days) and ^106mAg (''t''_1/2 = 8.28 days). All of the remaining [[radioactive]] isotopes have half-lives of less than an hour, and the majority of these have half-lives of less than three minutes.<ref name="Audi-2003">{{NUBASE 2003}}</ref>

Isotopes of silver range in [[atomic mass]] from 92.950&nbsp;Da (⁹³Ag) to 129.950&nbsp;Da (¹³⁰Ag);<ref>{{cite web|access-date = 11 November 2009|url = http://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/Compositions/stand_alone.pl?ele=Ag&ascii=html&isotype=all|title = Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions for Silver (NIST)}}</ref> the primary [[decay mode]] before the most abundant stable isotope, ¹⁰⁷Ag, is [[electron capture]] and the primary mode after is [[beta decay]]. The primary [[decay product]]s before ¹⁰⁷Ag are [[palladium]] (element 46) isotopes, and the primary products after are [[cadmium]] (element 48) isotopes.<ref name="Audi-2003" />

The palladium [[isotope]] ¹⁰⁷Pd decays by beta emission to ¹⁰⁷Ag with a half-life of 6.5 million years. [[Iron meteorite]]s are the only objects with a high-enough palladium-to-silver ratio to yield measurable variations in ¹⁰⁷Ag abundance. [[Radiogenic]] ¹⁰⁷Ag was first discovered in the [[Santa Clara, Durango|Santa Clara]] meteorite in 1978.<ref>{{cite journal|doi = 10.1029/GL005i012p01079|title = Evidence for the existence of ¹⁰⁷Pd in the early solar system|date = 1978|last1 = Kelly |first1=William R. |journal = Geophysical Research Letters|volume = 5|pages = 1079–82|first2 = G. J.|last2 = Wasserburg|bibcode=1978GeoRL...5.1079K|issue = 12|url = http://authors.library.caltech.edu/43037/1/grl921.pdf}}</ref> ¹⁰⁷Pd–¹⁰⁷Ag correlations observed in bodies that have clearly been melted since the [[accretion (astrophysics)|accretion]] of the [[Solar System]] must reflect the presence of unstable nuclides in the early Solar System.<ref>{{cite journal|title = Origin of Short-Lived Radionuclides|first1 = Sara S.|last1 = Russell|author1-link = Sara Russell|last2=Gounelle|first2=Matthieu|last3=Hutchison|first3=Robert|journal = [[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A]]|volume = 359|issue = 1787|date = 2001 |pages = 1991–2004|doi = 10.1098/rsta.2001.0893|jstor=3066270|bibcode = 2001RSPTA.359.1991R |s2cid = 120355895}}</ref>

==Chemistry==

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; clear:right; margin-left:1em; margin-top:0;"

|+ Oxidation states and stereochemistries of silver<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-7" />

|-

! Oxidation <br />state !! Coordination <br />number !! Stereochemistry !! Representative<br />compound

|-

| 0 (d¹⁰s¹) || 3 || Planar || Ag(CO)₃

|-

| rowspan="4" | 1 (d¹⁰) || 2 || Linear || [Ag(CN)₂]⁻

|-

| 3 || Trigonal planar || AgI(PEt₂Ar)₂

|-

| 4 || Tetrahedral || [Ag(diars)₂]⁺

|-

| 6 || Octahedral || AgF, AgCl, AgBr

|-

| 2 (d⁹) || 4 || Square planar || [Ag(py)₄]²⁺

|-

| rowspan="2" | 3 (d⁸) || 4 || Square planar || [AgF₄]⁻

|-

| 6 || Octahedral || [AgF₆]³⁻

|}

Silver is a rather unreactive metal. This is because its filled 4d shell is not very effective in shielding the electrostatic forces of attraction from the nucleus to the outermost 5s electron, and hence silver is near the bottom of the [[electrochemical series]] (''E''⁰(Ag⁺/Ag) = +0.799&nbsp;V).<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-5" /> In group 11, silver has the lowest first ionisation energy (showing the instability of the 5s orbital), but has higher second and third ionisation energies than copper and gold (showing the stability of the 4d orbitals), so that the chemistry of silver is predominantly that of the +1 oxidation state, reflecting the increasingly limited range of oxidation states along the transition series as the d-orbitals fill and stabilise.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-8">Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 1180</ref> Unlike [[copper]], for which the larger [[hydration energy]] of Cu²⁺ as compared to Cu⁺ is the reason why the former is the more stable in aqueous solution and solids despite lacking the stable filled d-subshell of the latter, with silver this effect is swamped by its larger second ionisation energy. Hence, Ag⁺ is the stable species in aqueous solution and solids, with Ag²⁺ being much less stable as it oxidises water.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-8" />

Most silver compounds have significant [[covalent bond|covalent]] character due to the small size and high first ionisation energy (730.8&nbsp;kJ/mol) of silver.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-5" /> Furthermore, silver's Pauling [[electronegativity]] of 1.93 is higher than that of [[lead]] (1.87), and its [[electron affinity]] of 125.6&nbsp;kJ/mol is much higher than that of [[hydrogen]] (72.8&nbsp;kJ/mol) and not much less than that of [[oxygen]] (141.0&nbsp;kJ/mol).<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-4">Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 1176</ref> Due to its full d-subshell, silver in its main +1 oxidation state exhibits relatively few properties of the transition metals proper from groups 4 to 10, forming rather unstable [[organometallic compound]]s, forming linear complexes showing very low [[coordination number]]s like 2, and forming an amphoteric oxide<ref>Lidin RA 1996, ''Inorganic substances handbook'', Begell House, New York, {{ISBN|1-56700-065-7}}. p. 5</ref> as well as [[Zintl phase]]s like the [[post-transition metal]]s.<ref>Goodwin F, Guruswamy S, Kainer KU, Kammer C, Knabl W, Koethe A, Leichtfreid G, Schlamp G, Stickler R & Warlimont H 2005, 'Noble metals and noble metal alloys', in ''Springer Handbook of Condensed Matter and Materials Data,'' W Martienssen & H Warlimont (eds), Springer, Berlin, pp.&nbsp;329–406, {{ISBN|3-540-44376-2}}. p. 341</ref> Unlike the preceding transition metals, the +1 oxidation state of silver is stable even in the absence of [[pi backbonding|π-acceptor ligands]].<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-8" />

Silver does not react with air, even at red heat, and thus was considered by [[alchemist]]s as a [[noble metal]], along with gold. Its reactivity is intermediate between that of copper (which forms [[copper(I) oxide]] when heated in air to red heat) and gold. Like copper, silver reacts with [[sulfur]] and its compounds; in their presence, silver tarnishes in air to form the black [[silver sulfide]] (copper forms the green [[sulfate]] instead, while gold does not react). While silver is not attacked by non-oxidising acids, the metal dissolves readily in hot concentrated [[sulfuric acid]], as well as dilute or concentrated [[nitric acid]]. In the presence of air, and especially in the presence of [[hydrogen peroxide]], silver dissolves readily in aqueous solutions of [[cyanide]].<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-7">Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 1179</ref>

The three main forms of deterioration in historical silver artifacts are tarnishing, formation of [[silver chloride]] due to long-term immersion in salt water, as well as reaction with [[nitrate]] ions or oxygen. Fresh silver chloride is pale yellow, becoming purplish on exposure to light; it projects slightly from the surface of the artifact or coin. The precipitation of copper in ancient silver can be used to date artifacts, as copper is nearly always a constituent of silver alloys.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130509014548/http://events.nace.org/library/corrosion/Artifacts/silver.asp "Silver Artifacts"] in ''Corrosion – Artifacts''. NACE Resource Center</ref>

Silver metal is attacked by strong [[Oxidizing agent|oxidant]] such as [[potassium permanganate]] ({{chem|KMnO|4}}) and [[potassium dichromate]] ({{chem|K|2|Cr|2|O|7}}), and in the presence of [[potassium bromide]] ({{chem|KBr}}). These compounds are used in photography to [[bleach]] silver images, converting them to silver bromide that can either be fixed with [[thiosulfate]] or redeveloped to [[potassium dichromate#photography|intensify]] the original image. Silver forms [[cyanide]] complexes ([[silver cyanide]]) that are soluble in water in the presence of an excess of cyanide ions. Silver cyanide solutions are used in [[electroplating]] of silver.<ref name="Bjelkhagen-1995">{{cite book| pages = [https://archive.org/details/silverhalidereco00bjel/page/n172 156]–66| title=Silver-halide recording materials: for holography and their processing| url = https://archive.org/details/silverhalidereco00bjel| url-access = limited| last = Bjelkhagen |first=Hans I.| publisher= Springer| date =1995| isbn = 978-3-540-58619-7}}</ref>

The common [[oxidation state]]s of silver are (in order of commonness): +1 (the most stable state; for example, [[silver nitrate]], AgNO₃); +2 (highly oxidising; for example, [[silver(II) fluoride]], AgF₂); and even very rarely +3 (extreme oxidising; for example, potassium tetrafluoroargentate(III), KAgF₄).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Riedel |first1=Sebastian |last2=Kaupp |first2=Martin |date=2009 |title=The highest oxidation states of the transition metal elements |journal=Coordination Chemistry Reviews |volume=253 |issue=5–6 |doi=10.1016/j.ccr.2008.07.014|pages=606–24}}</ref> The +3 state requires very strong oxidising agents to attain, such as [[fluorine]] or [[peroxodisulfate]], and some silver(III) compounds react with atmospheric moisture and attack glass.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-12">Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 1188</ref> Indeed, silver(III) fluoride is usually obtained by reacting silver or silver monofluoride with the strongest known oxidising agent, [[krypton difluoride]].<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-1">Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 903</ref>

==Compounds==

===Oxides and chalcogenides===

[[File:Sulfid stříbrný.PNG|thumb|right|Silver(I) sulfide]]

Silver and gold have rather low [[chemical affinity|chemical affinities]] for oxygen, lower than copper, and it is therefore expected that silver oxides are thermally quite unstable. Soluble silver(I) salts precipitate dark-brown [[silver(I) oxide]], Ag₂O, upon the addition of alkali. (The hydroxide AgOH exists only in solution; otherwise it spontaneously decomposes to the oxide.) Silver(I) oxide is very easily reduced to metallic silver, and decomposes to silver and oxygen above 160&nbsp;°C.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-9">Greenwood and Earnshaw, pp. 1181–82</ref> This and other silver(I) compounds may be oxidised by the strong oxidising agent [[peroxodisulfate]] to black AgO, a mixed [[silver(I,III) oxide]] of formula Ag^IAg^IIIO₂. Some other mixed oxides with silver in non-integral oxidation states, namely Ag₂O₃ and Ag₃O₄, are also known, as is Ag₃O which behaves as a metallic conductor.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-9" />

[[Silver(I) sulfide]], Ag₂S, is very readily formed from its constituent elements and is the cause of the black tarnish on some old silver objects. It may also be formed from the reaction of [[hydrogen sulfide]] with silver metal or aqueous Ag⁺ ions. Many non-stoichiometric [[selenide]]s and [[telluride (chemistry)|tellurides]] are known; in particular, AgTe_~3 is a low-temperature [[superconductor]].<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-9" />

===Halides===

{{main|Silver halide}}

[[File:Common Silver Halide Precipitates.jpg|thumb|right|The three common silver halide precipitates: from left to right, [[silver iodide]], [[silver bromide]], and [[silver chloride]]]]

The only known dihalide of silver is [[silver(II) fluoride|the difluoride]], AgF₂, which can be obtained from the elements under heat. A strong yet thermally stable and therefore safe fluorinating agent, silver(II) fluoride is often used to synthesise [[hydrofluorocarbon]]s.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-10">Greenwood and Earnshaw, pp. 1183–85</ref>

In stark contrast to this, all four silver(I) halides are known. The [[silver(I) fluoride|fluoride]], [[silver chloride|chloride]], and [[silver bromide|bromide]] have the sodium chloride structure, but the [[silver iodide|iodide]] has three known stable forms at different temperatures; that at room temperature is the cubic [[zinc blende]] structure. They can all be obtained by the direct reaction of their respective elements.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-10" /> As the halogen group is descended, the silver halide gains more and more covalent character, solubility decreases, and the colour changes from the white chloride to the yellow iodide as the energy required for [[charge-transfer complex|ligand-metal charge transfer]] (X⁻Ag⁺ → XAg) decreases.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-10" /> The fluoride is anomalous, as the fluoride ion is so small that it has a considerable [[solvation]] energy and hence is highly water-soluble and forms di- and tetrahydrates.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-10" /> The other three silver halides are highly insoluble in aqueous solutions and are very commonly used in gravimetric [[Wet chemistry|analytical]] methods.<ref name="Atomic Weights of the Elements 2007" /> All four are [[photosensitive]] (though the monofluoride is so only to [[ultraviolet]] light), especially the bromide and iodide which photodecompose to silver metal, and thus were used in [[Monochrome photography|traditional photography]].<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-10" /> The reaction involved is:<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-11">Greenwood and Earnshaw, pp. 1185–87</ref>

:X⁻ + ''hν'' → X + e⁻ (excitation of the halide ion, which gives up its extra electron into the conduction band)

:Ag⁺ + e⁻ → Ag (liberation of a silver ion, which gains an electron to become a silver atom)

The process is not reversible because the silver atom liberated is typically found at a [[crystal defect]] or an impurity site, so that the electron's energy is lowered enough that it is "trapped".<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-11" />

===Other inorganic compounds===

[[File:Silver.webm|thumb|Silver crystals forming on a copper surface in a silver nitrate solution. Video by [[Maxim Bilovitskiy]]. ]]

[[File:Silver nitrate crystals.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.45|Crystals of silver nitrate]]

White [[silver nitrate]], AgNO₃, is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, especially the halides, and is much less sensitive to light. It was once called ''lunar caustic'' because silver was called ''luna'' by the ancient alchemists, who believed that silver was associated with the Moon.<ref name="Abbri-2019">{{cite journal | last=Abbri | first=Ferdinando | title=Gold and silver: perfection of metals in medieval and early modern alchemy | journal=Substantia | date=2019| doi=10.13128/Substantia-603 | pages=39–44 | url=https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/subs/article/view/603 | access-date=8 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.die.net/lunar%20caustic |title=Definition of Lunar Caustic |website=dictionary.die.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120131215637/http://dictionary.die.net/lunar%20caustic |archive-date=31 January 2012 }}</ref> It is often used for gravimetric analysis, exploiting the insolubility of the heavier silver halides which it is a common precursor to.<ref name="Atomic Weights of the Elements 2007" /> Silver nitrate is used in many ways in [[organic synthesis]], e.g. for [[deprotection]] and oxidations. Ag⁺ binds [[alkene]]s reversibly, and silver nitrate has been used to separate mixtures of alkenes by selective absorption. The resulting [[adduct]] can be decomposed with [[ammonia]] to release the free alkene.<ref>{{OrgSynth|author1 = Cope, A. C.|author2 = Bach, R. D.|title = trans-Cyclooctene|collvol = 5|collvolpages = 315|year = 1973|prep = cv5p0315}}</ref>

Yellow [[silver carbonate]], Ag₂CO₃ can be easily prepared by reacting aqueous solutions of [[sodium carbonate]] with a deficiency of silver nitrate.<ref name="Coleman-1955">{{OrgSynth | author1 = McCloskey C.M.| author2= Coleman, G.H. | title = β-d-Glucose-2,3,4,6-Tetraacetate | collvol = 3 | collvolpages = 434 | year = 1955 | prep = cv3p0434}}</ref> Its principal use is for the production of silver powder for use in microelectronics. It is reduced with [[formaldehyde]], producing silver free of alkali metals:<ref name="Brumby et al-1">Brumby et al.</ref>

:Ag₂CO₃ + CH₂O → 2 Ag + 2 CO₂ + H₂

Silver carbonate is also used as a [[reagent]] in organic synthesis such as the [[Koenigs–Knorr reaction]]. In the [[Fétizon oxidation]], silver carbonate on [[celite]] acts as an [[oxidising agent]] to form [[lactone]]s from [[diols]]. It is also employed to convert [[alkyl]] bromides into [[Alcohol (chemistry)|alcohol]]s.<ref name="Coleman-1955" />

[[Silver fulminate]], AgCNO, a powerful, touch-sensitive [[explosive]] used in [[percussion cap]]s, is made by reaction of silver metal with nitric acid in the presence of [[ethanol]]. Other dangerously explosive silver compounds are [[silver azide]], AgN₃, formed by reaction of silver nitrate with [[sodium azide]],<ref>{{cite book|url = https://archive.org/details/Explosives._6th_Edition| page = [https://archive.org/details/Explosives._6th_Edition/page/n296 284]| title = Explosives| last1 = Meyer |first1=Rudolf| last2 = Köhler |first2=Josef| last3 = Homburg |first3=Axel| name-list-style = amp |publisher = Wiley–VCH| date = 2007| isbn = 978-3-527-31656-4}}</ref> and [[silver acetylide]], Ag₂C₂, formed when silver reacts with [[acetylene]] gas in ammonia solution.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-8" /> In its most characteristic reaction, silver azide decomposes explosively, releasing nitrogen gas: given the photosensitivity of silver salts, this behaviour may be induced by shining a light on its crystals.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-8" />

: 2 {{chem|AgN|3}} (s) → 3 {{chem|N|2}} (g) + 2 Ag (s)

===Coordination compounds===

[[File:Diamminesilver(I)-3D-balls.png|thumb|right|Structure of the diamminesilver(I) complex, [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺]]

Silver complexes tend to be similar to those of its lighter homologue copper. Silver(III) complexes tend to be rare and very easily reduced to the more stable lower oxidation states, though they are slightly more stable than those of copper(III). For instance, the square planar periodate [Ag(IO₅OH)₂]⁵⁻ and tellurate [Ag{TeO₄(OH)₂}₂]⁵⁻ complexes may be prepared by oxidising silver(I) with alkaline [[peroxodisulfate]]. The yellow diamagnetic [AgF₄]⁻ is much less stable, fuming in moist air and reacting with glass.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-12" />

Silver(II) complexes are more common. Like the valence isoelectronic copper(II) complexes, they are usually square planar and paramagnetic, which is increased by the greater field splitting for 4d electrons than for 3d electrons. Aqueous Ag²⁺, produced by oxidation of Ag⁺ by ozone, is a very strong oxidising agent, even in acidic solutions: it is stabilised in [[phosphoric acid]] due to complex formation. Peroxodisulfate oxidation is generally necessary to give the more stable complexes with heterocyclic [[amine]]s, such as [Ag(py)₄]²⁺ and [Ag(bipy)₂]²⁺: these are stable provided the counterion cannot reduce the silver back to the +1 oxidation state. [AgF₄]²⁻ is also known in its violet barium salt, as are some silver(II) complexes with ''N''- or ''O''-donor ligands such as pyridine carboxylates.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-13">Greenwood and Earnshaw, p. 1189</ref>

By far the most important oxidation state for silver in complexes is +1. The Ag⁺ cation is diamagnetic, like its homologues Cu⁺ and Au⁺, as all three have closed-shell electron configurations with no unpaired electrons: its complexes are colourless provided the ligands are not too easily polarised such as I⁻. Ag⁺ forms salts with most anions, but it is reluctant to coordinate to oxygen and thus most of these salts are insoluble in water: the exceptions are the nitrate, perchlorate, and fluoride. The tetracoordinate tetrahedral aqueous ion [Ag(H₂O)₄]⁺ is known, but the characteristic geometry for the Ag⁺ cation is 2-coordinate linear. For example, silver chloride dissolves readily in excess aqueous ammonia to form [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺; silver salts are dissolved in photography due to the formation of the thiosulfate complex [Ag(S₂O₃)₂]³⁻; and [[cyanide]] extraction for silver (and gold) works by the formation of the complex [Ag(CN)₂]⁻. Silver cyanide forms the linear polymer {Ag–C≡N→Ag–C≡N→}; silver [[thiocyanate]] has a similar structure, but forms a zigzag instead because of the sp³-[[orbital hybridization|hybridized]] sulfur atom. [[Chelating ligand]]s are unable to form linear complexes and thus silver(I) complexes with them tend to form polymers; a few exceptions exist, such as the near-tetrahedral [[diphosphine]] and [[diarsine]] complexes [Ag(L–L)₂]⁺.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-14">Greenwood and Earnshaw, pp. 1195–96</ref>

===Organometallic===

{{main|Organosilver chemistry}}

Under standard conditions, silver does not form simple carbonyls, due to the weakness of the Ag–C bond. A few are known at very low temperatures around 6–15&nbsp;K, such as the green, planar paramagnetic Ag(CO)₃, which dimerises at 25–30&nbsp;K, probably by forming Ag–Ag bonds. Additionally, the silver carbonyl [Ag(CO)] [B(OTeF₅)₄] is known. Polymeric AgLX complexes with [[alkene]]s and [[alkyne]]s are known, but their bonds are thermodynamically weaker than even those of the [[platinum]] complexes (though they are formed more readily than those of the analogous gold complexes): they are also quite unsymmetrical, showing the weak ''π'' bonding in group 11. Ag–C ''σ'' bonds may also be formed by silver(I), like copper(I) and gold(I), but the simple alkyls and aryls of silver(I) are even less stable than those of copper(I) (which tend to explode under ambient conditions). For example, poor thermal stability is reflected in the relative decomposition temperatures of AgMe (−50&nbsp;°C) and CuMe (−15&nbsp;°C) as well as those of PhAg (74&nbsp;°C) and PhCu (100&nbsp;°C).<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-15">Greenwood and Earnshaw, pp. 1199–200</ref>

The C–Ag bond is stabilised by [[perfluoroalkane|perfluoroalkyl]] ligands, for example in AgCF(CF₃)₂.<ref name="Miller-1968">{{cite journal|doi=10.1021/ja01028a047|last=Miller|first=W.T.|author2=Burnard, R.J.|title=Perfluoroalkylsilver compounds|year=1968|journal= [[J. Am. Chem. Soc.]]|volume=90|issue=26|pages=7367–68|bibcode=1968JAChS..90.7367M }}</ref> Alkenylsilver compounds are also more stable than their alkylsilver counterparts.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Holliday | first1 = A. | doi = 10.1016/S0022-328X(00)91078-7 | title = Vinyllead compounds I. Cleavage of vinyl groups from tetravinyllead | year = 1967 | pages = 281–84 | issue = 2 | volume = 7 | journal = [[J. Organomet. Chem.]] | last2 = Pendlebury | first2 = R.E.}}</ref> Silver-[[Transition metal carbene complex|NHC complexes]] are easily prepared, and are commonly used to prepare other NHC complexes by displacing labile ligands. For example, the reaction of the bis(NHC)silver(I) complex with [[bis(acetonitrile)palladium dichloride]] or [[chlorido(dimethyl sulfide)gold(I)]]:<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = Harrison M.J. | last2 = Lin | first2 = Ivan J.B. | title = Facile Synthesis of Silver(I)−Carbene Complexes. Useful Carbene Transfer Agents | journal = Organometallics | volume = 17 | issue = 5 | pages = 972–75 | year = 1998 | doi = 10.1021/om9709704}}</ref>

:[[File:Silver-NHC as carbene transmetallation agent.png|frameless|upright=2.75]]

===Intermetallic===

[[File:Ag-Au-Cu-colours-english.svg|thumb|upright=1.14|right|Different colors of silver–copper–gold alloys]]

Silver forms [[alloy]]s with most other elements on the periodic table. The elements from groups 1–3, except for [[hydrogen]], [[lithium]], and [[beryllium]], are very miscible with silver in the condensed phase and form intermetallic compounds; those from groups 4–9 are only poorly miscible; the elements in groups 10–14 (except [[boron]] and [[carbon]]) have very complex Ag–M phase diagrams and form the most commercially important alloys; and the remaining elements on the periodic table have no consistency in their Ag–M phase diagrams. By far the most important such alloys are those with copper: most silver used for coinage and jewellery is in reality a silver–copper alloy, and the [[eutectic mixture]] is used in vacuum [[brazing]]. The two metals are completely miscible as liquids but not as solids; their importance in industry comes from the fact that their properties tend to be suitable over a wide range of variation in silver and copper concentration, although most useful alloys tend to be richer in silver than the eutectic mixture (71.9% silver and 28.1% copper by weight, and 60.1% silver and 28.1% copper by atom).<ref name="Brumby et al-4">Brumby et al., pp. 54–61</ref>

Most other binary alloys are of little use: for example, silver–gold alloys are too soft and silver–[[cadmium]] alloys too toxic. Ternary alloys have much greater importance: dental [[amalgam (dentistry)|amalgams]] are usually silver–tin–mercury alloys, silver–copper–gold alloys are very important in jewellery (usually on the gold-rich side) and have a vast range of hardnesses and colours, silver–copper–zinc alloys are useful as low-melting brazing alloys, and silver–cadmium–[[indium]] (involving three adjacent elements on the periodic table) is useful in [[nuclear reactor]]s because of its high thermal neutron capture [[Cross section (physics)|cross-section]], good conduction of heat, mechanical stability, and resistance to corrosion in hot water.<ref name="Brumby et al-4" />

==Etymology==

The word ''silver'' appears in [[Old English]] in various spellings, such as {{Lang|ang|seolfor}} and {{Lang|ang|siolfor}}. It is [[cognate]] with [[Old High German]] {{Lang|goh|silabar}}; [[Gothic language|Gothic]] {{Lang|got|silubr}}; or [[Old Norse]] {{Lang|non|silfr}}, all ultimately deriving from [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] ''*silubra''. The [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]] words for silver are rather similar to the Germanic ones (e.g. [[Russian language|Russian]] {{Lang|ru|серебро}} [{{Transliteration|ru|serebró}}], [[Polish language|Polish]] {{Lang|pl|srebro}}, [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] {{Lang|lt|sidãbras}}), as is the [[Celtiberians|Celtiberian]] form ''silabur''. They may have a common Indo-European origin, although their morphology rather suggest a non-Indo-European ''[[Wanderwort]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kroonen|first=Guus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgmFRAAACAAJ|title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic|date=2013|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-18340-7|pages=436|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Mallory-2006">{{Cite book|last1=Mallory|first1=James P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNUSDAAAQBAJ|title=The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World|last2=Adams|first2=Douglas Q.|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-928791-8|pages=241–242|language=en|author-link=J. P. Mallory|author-link2=Douglas Q. Adams}}</ref> Some scholars have thus proposed a [[Paleo-Hispanic languages|Paleo-Hispanic]] origin, pointing to the [[Basque language|Basque]] form {{Lang|eu|zilharr}} as an evidence.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Boutkan|first1=Dirk|last2=Kossmann|first2=Maarten|date=2001|title=On the Etymology of "Silver"|journal=NOWELE: North-Western European Language Evolution|language=en|volume=38|issue=1|pages=3–15|doi=10.1075/nowele.38.01bou}}</ref>

The chemical symbol Ag is from the [[Latin]] word for ''silver'', ''{{Lang|la|argentum}}'' (compare [[Ancient Greek]] {{Lang|grc|ἄργυρος}}, {{Transliteration|grc|árgyros}}), from the [[Proto-Indo-European]] root *''h₂erǵ-'' (formerly reconstructed as ''*arǵ-''), meaning {{gloss|white}} or {{gloss|shining}}. This was the usual Proto-Indo-European word for the metal, whose reflexes are missing in Germanic and Balto-Slavic.<ref name="Mallory-2006" />

==History==

[[File:Vase Entemena Louvre AO2674.jpg|thumb|upright|Silver vase, {{Circa|2400 BC}}]]

[[File:Karashamb goblet.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Karashamb goblet|Karashamb silver goblet]], 23rd–22nd century BC]]

Silver was known in prehistoric times:<ref name="Weeks">Weeks, p. 4</ref> the three metals of group 11, copper, silver, and gold, occur in the [[native metal|elemental form]] in nature and were probably used as the first primitive forms of [[money]] as opposed to simple bartering.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-2">Greenwood and Earnshaw, pp. 1173–74</ref> Unlike copper, silver did not lead to the growth of [[metallurgy]], on account of its low structural strength; it was more often used ornamentally or as money.<ref name="Readon-2011">{{cite book |last=Readon |first=Arthur C. |date=2011 |title=Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist |publisher=ASM International |pages=73–84 |isbn=978-1-61503-821-3}}</ref> Since silver is more reactive than gold, supplies of native silver were much more limited than those of gold.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-2" /> For example, silver was more expensive than gold in Egypt until around the fifteenth century BC:<ref name="Weeks-2">Weeks, pp. 14–19</ref> the Egyptians are thought to have separated gold from silver by heating the metals with salt, and then reducing the [[silver chloride]] produced to the metal.<ref name="Brumby et al-2" />

The situation changed with the discovery of [[cupellation]], a technique that allowed silver metal to be extracted from its ores. While [[slag]] heaps found in [[Asia Minor]] and on the islands of the [[Aegean Sea]] indicate that silver was being separated from [[lead]] as early as the [[4th millennium BC]],<ref name="Hammond-2004" /> and one of the earliest silver extraction centres in Europe was [[Sardinia]] in the early [[Chalcolithic period]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.academia.edu/9860173|isbn=978-3944507057|chapter=Silver in Neolithic and Eneolithic Sardinia|editor1=Meller, H. |editor2=Risch, R. |editor3=Pernicka, E. |title=Metalle der Macht – Frühes Gold und Silber|trans-title= Metals of power – Early gold and silver|author=Melis, Maria Grazia |year=2014 |publisher=Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt}}</ref> these techniques did not spread widely until later,

when it spread throughout the region and beyond.<ref name="Weeks-2" /> The origins of silver production in [[India]], [[China]], and [[Japan]] were almost certainly equally ancient, but are not well-documented due to their great age.<ref name="Brumby et al-2" />

[[File:Silver mining in Kutná Hora 1490s.jpg|thumb|upright|Silver mining and processing in [[Kutná Hora]], Bohemia, 1490s]]

When the [[Phoenicia]]ns first came to what is now [[Spain]], they obtained so much silver that they could not fit it all on their ships, and as a result used silver to weight their anchors instead of lead.<ref name="Weeks-2" /> By the time of the Greek and Roman civilisations, silver coins were a staple of the economy:<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-2" /> the Greeks were already extracting silver from [[galena]] by the 7th century BC,<ref name="Weeks-2" /> and the rise of [[Athens]] was partly made possible by the nearby silver mines at [[Laurium]], from which they extracted about 30 tonnes a year from 600 to 300&nbsp;BC.<ref name="Emsley-2011">{{cite book| pages=492–98| title =Nature's building blocks: an A-Z guide to the elements|first =John|last=Emsley| publisher=Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-960563-7| date=2011}}</ref> The stability of the [[Roman currency]] relied to a high degree on the supply of silver bullion, mostly from Spain, which [[Roman metallurgy|Roman miners]] produced on a scale unparalleled before the [[discovery of the New World]]. Reaching a peak production of 200 tonnes per year, an estimated silver stock of 10,000 tonnes circulated in the [[Roman economy]] in the middle of the second century AD, five to ten times larger than the combined amount of silver available to [[Early Middle Ages|medieval Europe]] and the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] around AD&nbsp;800.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Silver Stocks and Losses in Ancient and Medieval Times|doi=10.1111/j.1468-0289.1972.tb02173.x|author-link=Clair Cameron Patterson |last=Patterson |first=C.C. |date=1972|journal=The Economic History Review|volume=25|issue=2|pages=205235 (216, table 2; 228, table 6)}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=de Callataÿ |first=François |date=2005|title=The Greco-Roman Economy in the Super Long-Run: Lead, Copper, and Shipwrecks|journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology|volume=18|pages=361–72 [365ff]|doi=10.1017/s104775940000742x|s2cid=232346123 }}</ref> The Romans also recorded the extraction of silver in central and northern Europe in the same time period. This production came to a nearly complete halt with the fall of the Roman Empire, not to resume until the time of [[Charlemagne]]: by then, tens of thousands of tonnes of silver had already been extracted.<ref name="Brumby et al-2">Brumby et al., pp. 16–19</ref>

Central Europe became the centre of silver production during the [[Middle Ages]], as the Mediterranean deposits exploited by the ancient civilisations had been exhausted. Silver mines were opened in [[Bohemia]], [[Saxony]], [[Alsace]], the [[Lahn]] region, [[Siegerland]], [[Silesia]], [[Hungary]], [[Norway]], [[Steiermark]], [[Schwaz]], and the southern [[Black Forest]]. Most of these ores were quite rich in silver and could simply be separated by hand from the remaining rock and then smelted; some deposits of native silver were also encountered. Many of these mines were soon exhausted, but a few of them remained active until the [[Industrial Revolution]], before which the world production of silver was around a meagre 50&nbsp;tonnes per year.<ref name="Brumby et al-2" /> In the Americas, high temperature silver-lead [[cupellation]] technology was developed by pre-Inca civilisations as early as AD&nbsp;60–120; silver deposits in India, China, Japan, and pre-Columbian America continued to be mined during this time.<ref name="Brumby et al-2" /><ref>{{cite journal |author=Schultze, Carol A. |author2=Stanish, Charles |author3=Scott, David A. |author4=Rehren, Thilo |author5=Kuehner, Scott |author6=Feathers, James K. |title=Direct evidence of 1,900 years of indigenous silver production in the Lake Titicaca Basin of Southern Peru |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=106 |issue=41 |pages=17280–83 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0907733106 |pmid=19805127 |year=2009 |bibcode=2009PNAS..10617280S |pmc=2754926|doi-access=free }}</ref>

With the discovery of America and the plundering of silver by the Spanish conquistadors, Central and South America became the dominant producers of silver until around the beginning of the 18th century, particularly [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], [[Chile]], and [[Argentina]]:<ref name="Brumby et al-2" /> the last of these countries later took its name from that of the metal that composed so much of its mineral wealth.<ref name="Emsley-2011" /> The silver trade gave way to a [[Global silver trade from the 16th to 19th centuries|global network of exchange]]. As one historian put it, silver "went round the world and made the world go round."<ref>{{Cite book|title=ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age|isbn=0520214749|url=https://archive.org/details/reorientglobalec00fran/page/n131|url-access=limited|last=Frank|first=Andre Gunder|publisher=University of California Press|year=1998|___location=Berkeley|page=131}}</ref> Much of this silver ended up in the hands of the Chinese. A Portuguese merchant in 1621 noted that silver "wanders throughout all the world... before flocking to China, where it remains as if at its natural centre".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=von Glahn|first=Richard|date=1996|doi=10.1017/S0022050700016508|jstor=2123972|title=Myth and Reality of China's Seventeenth Century Monetary Crisis|journal=Journal of Economic History|volume=56|issue=2 |pages=429–454 |s2cid=154126073 }}</ref> Still, much of it went to Spain, allowing Spanish rulers to pursue military and political ambitions in both Europe and the Americas. "New World mines", concluded several historians, "supported the Spanish empire."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Flynn|first1=Dennis O.|last2=Giraldez|first2=Arturo|date=1995|title=Born with a "Silver Spoon"|journal=Journal of World History|volume=2|page=210|url=https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/3372215/4433_UBA003000263.pdf|jstor=20078638}}</ref>

In the 19th century, primary production of silver moved to North America, particularly [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], and [[Nevada]] in the [[United States]]: some secondary production from lead and zinc ores also took place in Europe, and deposits in [[Siberia]] and the [[Russian Far East]] as well as in [[Australia]] were mined.<ref name="Brumby et al-2" /> [[Poland]] emerged as an important producer during the 1970s after the discovery of copper deposits that were rich in silver, before the centre of production returned to the Americas the following decade. Today, Peru and Mexico are still among the primary silver producers, but the distribution of silver production around the world is quite balanced and about one-fifth of the silver supply comes from recycling instead of new production.<ref name="Brumby et al-2" />

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" class="center">

File:Proto-Elamite kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel.jpg|[[Proto-Elamite]] kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel; 3100–2900 BC; 16.3×6.3×10.8&nbsp;cm; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)

Horus as falcon god with Egyptian crown from the 27th dynasty (05).jpg|[[Ancient Egypt]]ian figurine of [[Horus]] as falcon god with an Egyptian crown; {{Circa|500 BC}}; silver and [[electrum]]; height: 26.9&nbsp;cm; [[Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst]] ([[Munich]], Germany)

Silver tetradrachm MET DP139641.jpg|[[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] [[tetradrachm]]; 315–308 BC; diameter: 2.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Silver-gilt bowl MET DP105813.jpg|Ancient Greek gilded bowl; 2nd–1st century BC; height: 7.6&nbsp;cm, diameter: 14.8&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Silver plate MET DP231273.jpg|[[Roman Empire|Roman]] plate; 1st–2nd century AD; height: 0.1&nbsp;cm, diameter: 12.7&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Silver bust of Serapis MET DT6658.jpg|Roman bust of [[Serapis]]; 2nd century; 15.6×9.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Schaal met voorstellingen uit de geschiedenis van Diana en Actaeon door Paulus Willemsz van Vianen in 1613.jpg|[[Auricular style|Auricular]] basin with scenes from the story of Diana and Actaeon; 1613; length: 50&nbsp;cm, height: 6&nbsp;cm, width: 40&nbsp;cm; [[Rijksmuseum]] ([[Amsterdam]], the [[Netherlands]])

Silver Tureen (a), lid (b) -pair with 1975.1.2560a-c- MET SLP2561a b-1.jpg|French [[Rococo]] tureen; 1749; height: 26.3&nbsp;cm, width: 39&nbsp;cm, depth: 24&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Coffeepot MET DP103144 (cropped),.jpg|French Rococo coffeepot; 1757; height: 29.5&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ewer MET DT236853.jpg|French [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] ewer; 1784–1785; height: 32.9&nbsp;cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art

Elkington & Co. - Neo-Rococo Coffee Pot - 2003.243 - Cleveland Museum of Art.jpg|[[Rococo Revival|Neo-Rococo]] coffeepot; 1845; overall: 32×23.8×15.4&nbsp;cm; [[Cleveland Museum of Art]] ([[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], US)

Dessert Spoon (France), ca. 1890 (CH 18653899-2).jpg|French [[Art Nouveau]] dessert spoons; circa 1890; [[Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum]] (New York City)

Jardiniere And Liner (Germany), ca. 1905–10 (CH 18444035) (cropped).jpg|Art Nouveau jardinière; circa 1905–1910; height: 22&nbsp;cm, width: 47&nbsp;cm, depth: 22.5&nbsp;cm; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Handspiegel met gedreven Jugendstilornament, BK-1967-10.jpg|Hand mirror; 1906; height: 20.7&nbsp;cm, weight: 88 g; [[Rijksmuseum]] ([[Amsterdam]], the [[Netherlands]])

Mystery watch.jpg|[[Mystery watch]]; ca. 1889; diameter: 5.4&nbsp;cm, depth: 1.8&nbsp;cm; [[Watch Museum of Le Locle|Musée d'Horlogerie of Le Locle]] ([[Switzerland]])

</gallery>

==Symbolic role==

[[File:6852 les deniers de judas.JPG|thumb|upright|16th-century fresco painting of Judas being paid thirty pieces of silver for his betrayal of Jesus]]

Silver plays a certain role in mythology and has found various usage as a metaphor and in folklore. The Greek poet [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Works and Days]]'' (lines 109–201) lists different [[ages of man]] named after metals like gold, silver, bronze and iron to account for successive ages of humanity.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Fontenrose | first=Joseph | title=Work, Justice, and Hesiod's Five Ages | journal=Classical Philology | volume=69 | issue=1 | year=1974 | jstor=268960 | doi=10.1086/366027 | pages=1–16| s2cid=161808359 }}</ref> [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' contains another retelling of the story, containing an illustration of silver's metaphorical use of signifying the second-best in a series, better than bronze but worse than gold:

{{Blockquote|text=<poem>But when good [[Saturn (mythology)|Saturn]], banish'd from above,

Was driv'n to Hell, the world was under [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jove]].

Succeeding times a silver age behold,

Excelling brass, but more excell'd by gold.</poem>|sign=Ovid|source=[[Metamorphoses]], Book I, trans. [[John Dryden]]}}

In folklore, silver was commonly thought to have mystic powers: for example, a [[silver bullet|bullet cast from silver]] is often supposed in such folklore the only weapon that is effective against a [[werewolf]], [[witch]], or other [[monster]]s.<ref>{{cite book|first=Robert|last=Jackson|year=1995|title=Witchcraft and the Occult|publisher=Devizes, Quintet Publishing|page=25|isbn=978-1-85348-888-7}}</ref><ref name="Стойкова">{{cite book|last=Стойкова|first=Стефана|title=Българска народна поезия и проза в седем тома|publisher=ЕИ "LiterNet"|___location=Варна|volume= Т. III. Хайдушки и исторически песни|chapter=Дельо хайдутин|isbn=978-954-304-232-6|url=http://liternet.bg/folklor/sbornici/bnpp/haidushki/content.htm|chapter-url=http://liternet.bg/folklor/sbornici/bnpp/haidushki/58.htm|language=bg}}</ref><ref name="StClair-2016">{{Cite book|title=The Secret Lives of Colour|last=St. Clair|first=Kassia|publisher=John Murray|year=2016|isbn=9781473630819|___location=London|page=49|oclc=936144129}}</ref> From this the idiom of a [[silver bullet]] developed into figuratively referring to any simple solution with very high effectiveness or almost miraculous results, as in the widely discussed [[software engineering]] paper "[[No Silver Bullet]]."<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Brooks | first1 = Frederick. P. Jr. | doi = 10.1109/MC.1987.1663532 | title = No Silver Bullet – Essence and Accident in Software Engineering | journal = Computer| volume = 20 | issue = 4 | pages = 10–19 | year = 1987 | url = http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~xswang/Research/Papers/SERelated/no-silver-bullet.pdf| citeseerx = 10.1.1.117.315| s2cid = 372277}}</ref> Other powers attributed to silver include detection of poison and facilitation of passage into the [[Fairyland|mythical realm of fairies]].<ref name="StClair-2016" />

Silver production has also inspired figurative language. Clear references to cupellation occur throughout the [[Old Testament]] of the [[Bible]], such as in [[Jeremiah]]'s rebuke to Judah: "The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them." (Jeremiah 6:19–20) Jeremiah was also aware of sheet silver, exemplifying the malleability and ductility of the metal: "Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men." (Jeremiah 10:9)<ref name="Weeks-2" />

Silver also has more negative cultural meanings: the idiom [[wikt:thirty pieces of silver|thirty pieces of silver]], referring to a reward for betrayal, references the bribe [[Judas Iscariot]] is said in the [[New Testament]] to have taken from Jewish leaders in [[Jerusalem]] to turn [[Jesus|Jesus of Nazareth]] over to soldiers of the high priest Caiaphas.<ref>{{bibleverse|Matthew|26:15|NIV}}</ref> Ethically, silver also symbolizes greed and degradation of consciousness; this is the negative aspect, the perverting of its value.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chevalier |first1=Jean |last2=Gheerbrant |first2=Alain |date=2009 |title=Dicționar de Simboluri. Mituri, Vise, Obiceiuri, Gesturi, Forme, Figuri, Culori, Numere |trans-title=Dictionary of Symbols. Myths, Dreams, Habits, Gestures, Shapes, Figures, Colors, Numbers |language=ro |at=105 |publisher=Polirom |isbn=978-973-46-1286-4}}</ref>

==Occurrence and production==

{{further|Silver mining}}

[[File:Silver - world production trend.svg|thumb|World production of silver]]

The abundance of silver in the Earth's crust is 0.08&nbsp;[[parts per million]], almost exactly the same as that of [[mercury (element)|mercury]]. It mostly occurs in [[sulfide]] ores, especially [[acanthite]] and [[argentite]], Ag₂S. Argentite deposits sometimes also contain [[native metal|native]] silver when they occur in reducing environments, and when in contact with salt water they are converted to [[chlorargyrite]] (including [[horn silver]]), AgCl, which is prevalent in [[Chile]] and [[New South Wales]].<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-3">Greenwood and Earnshaw, pp. 1174–67</ref> Most other silver minerals are silver [[pnictide]]s or [[chalcogenide]]s; they are generally lustrous semiconductors. Most true silver deposits, as opposed to argentiferous deposits of other metals, came from [[Tertiary (period)|Tertiary]] vulcanism.<ref name="Brumby et al-3">Brumby et al., pp. 21–22</ref>

The principal sources of silver are the ores of copper, copper-nickel, lead, and lead-zinc obtained from [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], [[Mexico]], [[China]], [[Australia]], [[Chile]], [[Poland]] and [[Serbia]].<ref name="Hammond-2004" /> Peru, Bolivia and Mexico have been mining silver since 1546, and are still major world producers. Top silver-producing mines are [[Cannington Mine|Cannington]] (Australia), [[Mina Proaño|Fresnillo]] (Mexico), [[San Cristóbal mine (Bolivia)|San Cristóbal]] (Bolivia), [[Antamina mine|Antamina]] (Peru), [[Rudna mine|Rudna]] (Poland), and [[Peñasquito Polymetallic Mine|Penasquito]] (Mexico).<ref name="CPM Group-2011">{{cite book|author=CPM Group|title=CPM Silver Yearbook|date=2011|publisher=Euromoney Books|___location=New York |isbn=978-0-9826741-4-7|page=68}}</ref> Top near-term mine development projects through 2015 are Pascua Lama (Chile), Navidad (Argentina), Jaunicipio (Mexico), Malku Khota (Bolivia),<ref>{{cite web|title=Preliminary Economic Assessment Technical Report 43-101|url=http://www.soamsilver.com/upload/Technical_Reports/Malku_Khota_PEA_Update_11_May_2011.pdf.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119090432/http://www.soamsilver.com/upload/Technical_Reports/Malku_Khota_PEA_Update_11_May_2011.pdf.pdf|archive-date=19 January 2012|publisher=South American Silver Corp.}}</ref> and Hackett River (Canada).<ref name="CPM Group-2011" /> In [[Central Asia]], [[Mining in Tajikistan#Silver|Tajikistan]] is known to have some of the largest silver deposits in the world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67365 |title=Why Are Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan So Split on Foreign Mining? |newspaper=Eurasianet |publisher=EurasiaNet.org |date=7 August 2013 |access-date=19 August 2013}}</ref>

Silver is usually found in nature combined with other metals, or in minerals that contain silver compounds, generally in the form of [[sulfides]] such as [[galena]] (lead sulfide) or [[cerussite]] (lead carbonate). So the primary production of silver requires the smelting and then [[cupellation]] of argentiferous lead ores, a historically important process.<ref name="Kassianidou-2003">Kassianidou, V. (2003). "Early Extraction of Silver from Complex Polymetallic Ores", pp. 198–206 in Craddock, P.T. and Lang, J (eds.) ''Mining and Metal production through the Ages''. London, British Museum Press.</ref> Lead melts at 327&nbsp;°C, lead oxide at 888&nbsp;°C and silver melts at 960&nbsp;°C. To separate the silver, the alloy is melted again at the high temperature of 960&nbsp;°C to 1000&nbsp;°C in an oxidising environment. The lead oxidises to [[Lead(II) oxide|lead monoxide]], then known as [[litharge]], which captures the oxygen from the other metals present. The liquid lead oxide is removed or absorbed by [[capillary action]] into the hearth linings.<ref>Craddock, P.T. (1995). ''Early metal mining and production''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 223. {{ISBN|1560985356}}</ref><ref name="Bayley-2008">

Bayley, J., Crossley, D. and Ponting, M. (eds). (2008). [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271133104_Metals_and_Metalworking_A_Research_Framework_for_Archaeometallurgy ''Metals and Metalworking. A research framework for archaeometallurgy''. Historical Metallurgy Society. p. 6. {{ISBN|978-0-9560225-0-9}}</ref><ref>Pernicka, E., Rehren, Th., Schmitt-Strecker, S. (1998). [https://www.academia.edu/7001043/Late_Uruk_silver_production_by_cupellation_at_Habuba_Kabira_Syria_Pernicka_et_al_1998_ "Late Uruk silver production by cupellation at Habuba Kabira, Syria"], pp. 123–34 in ''Metallurgica Antiqua'', Deutsches Bergbau-Museum.</ref>

: {{Chem|Ag}}(s) + 2{{Chem|Pb}}(s) + {{Chem|O|2}}(g) → 2{{Chem|Pb|O}}(absorbed) + Ag(l)

Today, silver metal is primarily produced instead as a secondary byproduct of [[Refining (metallurgy)#Electrolytic refining|electrolytic refining]] of copper, lead, and zinc, and by application of the [[Parkes process]] on lead bullion from ore that also contains silver.<ref name="Hilliard" /> In such processes, silver follows the non-ferrous metal in question through its concentration and smelting, and is later purified out. For example, in copper production, purified copper is [[electrolysis|electrolytically]] deposited on the cathode, while the less reactive precious metals such as silver and gold collect under the anode as the so-called "anode slime". This is then separated and purified of base metals by treatment with hot aerated dilute [[sulfuric]] acid and heating with lime or silica flux, before the silver is purified to over 99.9% purity via electrolysis in [[nitrate]] solution.<ref name="Greenwood and Earnshaw-3" />

Commercial-grade fine silver is at least 99.9% pure, and purities greater than 99.999% are available. In 2022, Mexico was the top producer of silver (6,300 [[tonne]]s or 24.2% of the world's total of 26,000 t), followed by China (3,600 t) and Peru (3,100 t).<ref name="Hilliard">{{cite web|url=http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silver/|title=Silver|author=Hilliard, Henry E.|publisher=USGS|access-date=4 June 2006|archive-date=6 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106233737/http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/silver/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===In marine environments===

Silver concentration is low in [[seawater]] (pmol/L). Levels vary by depth and between water bodies. Dissolved silver concentrations range from 0.3&nbsp;pmol/L in coastal surface waters to 22.8&nbsp;pmol/L in pelagic deep waters.<ref name="Barriada-2007">{{cite journal|last1=Barriada|first1=Jose L.|last2=Tappin|first2=Alan D.|last3=Evans|first3=E. Hywel|last4=Achterberg|first4=Eric P.|title=Dissolved silver measurements in seawater|journal=TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry|volume=26|issue=8|year=2007|pages=809–817|doi=10.1016/j.trac.2007.06.004}}</ref> Analysing the presence and dynamics of silver in marine environments is difficult due to these particularly low concentrations and complex interactions in the environment.<ref name="Fischer-2018">{{cite journal|last1=Fischer|first1=Lisa|last2=Smith|first2=Geoffrey|last3=Hann|first3=Stephan|last4=Bruland|first4=Kenneth W.|title=Ultra-trace analysis of silver and platinum in seawater by ICP-SFMS after off-line matrix separation and pre-concentration|journal=Marine Chemistry|volume=199|year=2018|pages=44–52|doi=10.1016/j.marchem.2018.01.006|bibcode=2018MarCh.199...44F |doi-access=free}}</ref> Although a rare trace metal, concentrations are greatly impacted by fluvial, aeolian, atmospheric, and upwelling inputs, as well as anthropogenic inputs via discharge, waste disposal, and emissions from industrial companies.<ref name="Ndung’u-2001">{{cite journal|last1=Ndung’u|first1=K.|last2=Thomas|first2=M.A.|last3=Flegal|first3=A.R.|title=Silver in the western equatorial and South Atlantic Ocean|journal=Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography|volume=48|issue=13|year=2001|pages=2933–2945|doi=10.1016/S0967-0645(01)00025-X|bibcode=2001DSRII..48.2933N}}</ref><ref name="Zhang-2001">{{cite journal|last1=Zhang|first1=Yan|last2=Amakawa|first2=Hiroshi|last3=Nozaki|first3=Yoshiyuki|title=Oceanic profiles of dissolved silver: precise measurements in the basins of western North Pacific, Sea of Okhotsk, and the Japan Sea|journal=Marine Chemistry|volume=75|issue=1–2|year=2001|pages=151–163|doi=10.1016/S0304-4203(01)00035-4|bibcode=2001MarCh..75..151Z }}</ref> Other internal processes such as decomposition of organic matter may be a source of dissolved silver in deeper waters, which feeds into some surface waters through upwelling and vertical mixing.<ref name="Zhang-2001" />

In the Atlantic and Pacific, silver concentrations are minimal at the surface but rise in deeper waters.<ref name="Flegal-1995">{{cite journal|last1=Flegal|first1=A.R.|last2=Sañudo-Wilhelmy|first2=S.A.|last3=Scelfo|first3=G.M.|title=Silver in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean|journal=Marine Chemistry|volume=49|issue=4|year=1995|pages=315–320|doi=10.1016/0304-4203(95)00021-I|bibcode=1995MarCh..49..315F }}</ref> Silver is taken up by plankton in the photic zone, remobilized with depth, and enriched in deep waters. Silver is transported from the Atlantic to the other oceanic water masses.<ref name="Ndung’u-2001" /> In North Pacific waters, silver is remobilised at a slower rate and increasingly enriched compared to deep Atlantic waters. Silver has increasing concentrations that follow the major oceanic conveyor belt that cycles water and nutrients from the North Atlantic to the South Atlantic to the North Pacific.<ref name="Ranville-2005">{{cite journal|last1=Ranville|first1=Mara A.|last2=Flegal|first2=A. Russell|title=Silver in the North Pacific Ocean|journal=Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems|volume=6|issue=3|article-number=2004GC000770 |year=2005|pages=n/a|doi=10.1029/2004GC000770|bibcode=2005GGG.....6.3M01R|doi-access=free}}</ref>

There is not an extensive amount of data focused on how marine life is affected by silver despite the likely deleterious effects it could have on organisms through [[bioaccumulation]], association with particulate matters, and [[sorption]].<ref name="Barriada-2007" /> Not until about 1984 did scientists begin to understand the chemical characteristics of silver and the potential toxicity. In fact, [[Mercury (element)|mercury]] is the only other trace metal that surpasses the toxic effects of silver; the full silver toxicity extent is not expected in oceanic conditions because of its tendency to transfer into nonreactive biological compounds.<ref name="Ratte-1999">{{cite journal|last1=Ratte|first1=Hans Toni|title=Bioaccumulation and toxicity of silver compounds: A review|journal=Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry|volume=18|issue=1|year=1999|pages=89–108|doi=10.1002/etc.5620180112|s2cid=129765758 |doi-access=free|bibcode=1999EnvTC..18...89R }}</ref>

In one study, the presence of excess ionic silver and silver [[nanoparticle]]s caused bioaccumulation effects on zebrafish organs and altered the chemical pathways within their gills.<ref name="Lacave-2018">{{cite journal|last1=Lacave|first1=José María|last2=Vicario-Parés|first2=Unai|last3=Bilbao|first3=Eider|last4=Gilliland|first4=Douglas|last5=Mura|first5=Francesco|last6=Dini|first6=Luciana|last7=Cajaraville|first7=Miren P.|last8=Orbea|first8=Amaia|title=Waterborne exposure of adult zebrafish to silver nanoparticles and to ionic silver results in differential silver accumulation and effects at cellular and molecular levels|journal=Science of the Total Environment|volume=642|year=2018|pages=1209–1220|doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.128|pmid=30045502|bibcode=2018ScTEn.642.1209L|s2cid=51719111}}</ref> In addition, very early experimental studies demonstrated how the toxic effects of silver fluctuate with salinity and other parameters, as well as between life stages and different species such as finfish, molluscs, and crustaceans.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Calabrese, A.|author2= Thurberg, F.P.|author3= Gould, E. |year=1977|title=Effects of Cadmium, Mercury, and Silver on Marine Animals|journal= Marine Fisheries Review|volume= 39|issue=4|pages=5–11|url=

https://fliphtml5.com/hzci/lbsc/basic |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126043259/https://fliphtml5.com/hzci/lbsc/basic |archive-date=26 January 2021 }}</ref> Another study found raised concentrations of silver in the muscles and liver of dolphins and whales, indicating pollution of this metal within recent decades. Silver is not an easy metal for an organism to eliminate and elevated concentrations can cause death.<ref name="Chen-2017">{{cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Meng-Hsien|last2=Zhuang|first2=Ming-Feng|last3=Chou|first3=Lien-Siang|last4=Liu|first4=Jean-Yi|last5=Shih|first5=Chieh-Chih|last6=Chen|first6=Chiee-Young|title=Tissue concentrations of four Taiwanese toothed cetaceans indicating the silver and cadmium pollution in the western Pacific Ocean|journal=Marine Pollution Bulletin|volume=124|issue=2|year=2017|pages=993–1000|doi=10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.03.028|pmid=28442199|bibcode=2017MarPB.124..993C }}</ref>

=={{Anchor|XAG}}Monetary use==

[[File:2022-american-eagle-silver-one-ounce-bullion-coin-obverse.png|thumb|An [[American Silver Eagle]] bullion coin, minted from .999 fine silver]]

The earliest known coins were minted in the kingdom of [[Lydia]] in [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] around 600&nbsp;BC.<ref name="BritishMuseum">{{cite web|url=http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/themes/money/the_origins_of_coinage.aspx|title=The origins of coinage|publisher=britishmuseum.org|access-date=21 September 2015|archive-date=2 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502141542/https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/themes/money/the_origins_of_coinage.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> The coins of Lydia were made of [[electrum]], which is a naturally occurring [[alloy]] of gold and silver, that was available within the territory of Lydia.<ref name="BritishMuseum" /> Since that time, [[silver standard]]s, in which the standard economic [[unit of account]] is a fixed weight of silver, have been widespread throughout the world until the 20th century. Notable [[silver coin]]s through the centuries include the [[Modern drachma|Greek drachma]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Tetradrachm | encyclopedia = Merriam-Webster | url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tetradrachms | access-date =20 January 2008}}</ref> the Roman [[denarius]],<ref>Crawford, Michael H. (1974). Roman Republican Coinage, Cambridge University Press, 2 Volumes. {{ISBN|0-521-07492-4}}</ref> the Islamic [[dirham]],<ref name="OED">''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', 1st edition, [http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/53338 s.v. 'dirhem'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209223219/https://www.oed.com/view/Entry/53338 |date=9 February 2020 }}</ref> the [[karshapana]] from ancient India and [[rupee]] from the time of the [[Mughal Empire]] (grouped with copper and gold coins to create a trimetallic standard),<ref>{{cite web | author=etymonline.com | date=20 September 2008 | url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=rupee&searchmode=none | title=Etymology of rupee | access-date=20 September 2008}}</ref> and the [[Spanish dollar]].<ref name="Osborne-2012">{{cite book|author=Osborne, Thomas J. |title=Pacific Eldorado: A History of Greater California|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FvA3jL4CFCMC|year=2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-118-29217-4|page=31}}</ref>

The ratio between the amount of silver used for coinage and that used for other purposes has fluctuated greatly over time; for example, in wartime, more silver tends to have been used for coinage to finance the war.<ref name="Brumby et al-5">Brumby et al., pp. 63–65</ref>

Today, silver bullion has the [[ISO 4217]] currency code XAG, one of only four [[precious metal]]s to have one (the others being [[platinum]], [[palladium]], and gold).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.currency-iso.org/en/home/tables/table-a1.html|title=Current currency & funds code list – ISO Currency|website=SNV | access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref> Silver coins are produced from cast rods or ingots, rolled to the correct thickness, heat-treated, and then used to cut [[planchet|blanks]] from. These blanks are then milled and minted in a coining press; modern coining presses can produce 8,000 silver coins per hour.<ref name="Brumby et al-5" />

===Price===

[[File:Price of silver.webp|thumb|300px|right|Price of silver 1968–2022]]

{{see also|Silver as an investment}}

Silver prices are normally quoted in [[Troy weight|troy ounces]]. One troy ounce is equal to {{convert|1|ozt|g|7|abbr=off|disp=out}}. The London silver fix is published every working day at noon [[London time]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lbma.org.uk/lbma-silver-price | title=LBMA Silver Price | website=LBMA | access-date=29 March 2020}}</ref> This price is determined by several major international banks and is used by [[London bullion market]] members for trading that day. Prices are most commonly shown as the [[United States dollar]] (USD), the [[Pound sterling]] (GBP), and the [[Euro]] (EUR).

==Applications==

===Jewellery and silverware===

{{see also|Silver plating|Silvering|Silver-gilt}}

[[File:Rennen Silver sarcophagus of Saint Stanislaus.jpg|thumb|[[Repoussé and chasing|Embossed]] silver sarcophagus of [[Stanislaus of Szczepanów|Saint Stanislaus]] in the [[Wawel Cathedral]] was created in main centres of the 17th century European [[silversmith]]ery – [[Augsburg]] and [[Gdańsk]]<ref name="Latka-2019" />]]

[[File:Läckö slott interior 42.jpg|thumb|17th-century silverware]]

The major use of silver besides coinage throughout most of history was in the manufacture of [[jewellery]] and other general-use items, and this continues to be a major use today. Examples include [[household silver|table silver]] for cutlery, for which silver is highly suited due to its antibacterial properties. [[Western concert flute]]s are usually plated with or made out of [[sterling silver]];<ref name="Brumby et al-6">Brumby et al., pp. 65–67</ref> in fact, most silverware is only silver-plated rather than made out of pure silver; the silver is normally put in place by [[electroplating]]. Silver-plated glass (as opposed to metal) is used for mirrors, [[vacuum flask]]s, and Christmas tree decorations.<ref name="Brumby et al-7" />

Because pure silver is very soft, most silver used for these purposes is alloyed with copper, with finenesses of 925/1000, 835/1000, and 800/1000 being common. One drawback is the easy tarnishing of silver in the presence of [[hydrogen sulfide]] and its derivatives. Including precious metals such as palladium, platinum, and gold gives resistance to tarnishing but is quite costly; [[base metal]]s like [[zinc]], [[cadmium]], [[silicon]], and [[germanium]] do not totally prevent corrosion and tend to affect the lustre and colour of the alloy. Electrolytically refined pure silver plating is effective at increasing resistance to tarnishing. The usual solutions for restoring the lustre of tarnished silver are dipping baths that reduce the silver sulfide surface to metallic silver, and cleaning off the layer of tarnish with a paste; the latter approach also has the welcome side effect of polishing the silver concurrently.<ref name="Brumby et al-6" />

===Medicine===

{{Main|Medical uses of silver}}

In medicine, silver is incorporated into wound dressings and used as an antibiotic coating in medical devices. Wound dressings containing [[silver sulfadiazine]] or [[Silver nanoparticles|silver nanomaterials]] are used to treat external infections. Silver is also used in some medical applications, such as [[urinary catheter]]s (where tentative evidence indicates it reduces catheter-related [[urinary tract infections]]) and in [[endotracheal tube|endotracheal breathing tubes]] (where evidence suggests it reduces ventilator-associated [[pneumonia]]).<ref>{{Cite journal

| last1 = Beattie | first1 = M.

| last2 = Taylor | first2 = J.

| doi = 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03561.x

| title = Silver alloy vs. Uncoated urinary catheters: A systematic review of the literature

| journal = Journal of Clinical Nursing

| volume = 20

| issue = 15–16

| pages = 2098–108

| year = 2011

| pmid = 21418360

}}</ref><ref name="Bouadma-2012">{{cite journal|last1=Bouadma|first1=L.|last2=Wolff|first2=M.|last3=Lucet|first3=J.C.|title=Ventilator-associated pneumonia and its prevention|journal=Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases|date=August 2012|volume=25|issue=4|pages=395–404|pmid=22744316|doi=10.1097/QCO.0b013e328355a835|s2cid=41051853}}</ref> The silver [[ion]] is [[Biological activity|bioactive]] and in sufficient [[concentration]] readily kills [[bacteria]] ''[[in vitro]]''. Silver ions interfere with enzymes in the bacteria that transport nutrients, form structures, and synthesise cell walls; these ions also bond with the bacteria's genetic material. Silver and silver nanoparticles are used as an antimicrobial in a variety of industrial, healthcare, and domestic application: for example, infusing clothing with nanosilver particles thus allows them to stay odourless for longer.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.3109/1040841X.2012.713323|title=Silver as an antimicrobial: Facts and gaps in knowledge|date=2012|last1=Maillard|first1=Jean-Yves|last2=Hartemann|first2=Philippe|journal=Critical Reviews in Microbiology|volume=39|issue=4|pages=373–83|pmid=22928774|s2cid=27527124}}</ref><ref name="Brumby et al-12" /> Bacteria can develop resistance to the antimicrobial action of silver.<ref name="Panáček-2018"/> Silver compounds are taken up by the body like [[mercury (element)|mercury]] compounds, but lack the toxicity of the latter. Silver and its alloys are used in cranial surgery to replace bone, and silver–tin–mercury amalgams are used in dentistry.<ref name="Brumby et al-7">Brumby et al. pp. 67–71</ref> [[Silver diammine fluoride]], the fluoride salt of a [[coordination complex]] with the formula [Ag(NH₃)₂]F, is a topical [[medicament]] (drug) used to treat and prevent [[dental caries]] (cavities) and relieve dentinal hypersensitivity.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Silver diamine fluoride: a caries "silver-fluoride bullet"|author1=Rosenblatt, A. |author2=Stamford, T.C.M. |author3=Niederman, R. |journal=Journal of Dental Research|year=2009|volume=88|issue=2|pages=116–25|doi=10.1177/0022034508329406|pmid=19278981|s2cid=30730306 }}</ref>

===Electronics===

{{see also|Copper-clad aluminium wire}}

Silver is very important in electronics for conductors and electrodes on account of its high electrical conductivity even when tarnished. Bulk silver and silver foils were used to make vacuum tubes, and continue to be used today in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, circuits, and their components. For example, silver is used in high quality connectors for [[Radio frequency|RF]], [[Very high frequency|VHF]], and higher frequencies, particularly in tuned circuits such as [[RF and microwave filter#Cavity filters|cavity filters]] where conductors cannot be scaled by more than 6%. [[Printed circuit board|Printed circuits]] and [[RFID]] antennas are made with silver paints,<ref name="Hammond-2004" /><ref>{{cite book|last1=Nikitin |first1=Pavel V. |last2=Lam |first2=Sander |last3=Rao |first3=K.V.S. |name-list-style=amp |chapter-url=http://www.ee.washington.edu/faculty/nikitin_pavel/papers/APS_2005.pdf |title=2005 IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium |doi=10.1109/APS.2005.1552015 |isbn=978-0-7803-8883-3 |date=2005 |chapter=Low Cost Silver Ink RFID Tag Antennas |volume=2B |page=353 |s2cid=695256 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321212851/http://www.ee.washington.edu/faculty/nikitin_pavel/papers/APS_2005.pdf |archive-date=21 March 2016 }}</ref> Powdered silver and its alloys are used in paste preparations for conductor layers and electrodes, ceramic capacitors, and other ceramic components.<ref name="Brumby et al-8">Brumby et al., pp. 71–78</ref>

===Brazing alloys===

Silver-containing [[brazing]] alloys are used for brazing metallic materials, mostly [[cobalt]], [[nickel]], and copper-based alloys, tool steels, and precious metals. The basic components are silver and copper, with other elements selected according to the specific application desired: examples include zinc, tin, cadmium, palladium, [[manganese]], and [[phosphorus]]. Silver provides increased workability and corrosion resistance during usage.<ref name="Brumby et al-9">Brumby et al., pp. 78–81</ref>

===Chemical equipment===

Silver is useful in the manufacture of chemical equipment on account of its low chemical reactivity, high thermal conductivity, and being easily workable. Silver [[crucible]]s (alloyed with 0.15% nickel to avoid recrystallisation of the metal at red heat) are used for carrying out alkaline fusion. Copper and silver are also used when doing chemistry with [[fluorine]]. Equipment made to work at high temperatures is often silver-plated. Silver and its alloys with gold are used as wire or ring seals for oxygen compressors and vacuum equipment.<ref name="Brumby et al-10">Brumby et al., pp. 81–82</ref>

===Catalysis===

Silver metal is a good catalyst for [[oxidation]] reactions; in fact it is somewhat too good for most purposes, as finely divided silver tends to result in complete oxidation of organic substances to [[carbon dioxide]] and water, and hence coarser-grained silver tends to be used instead. For instance, 15% silver supported on α-Al₂O₃ or silicates is a catalyst for the oxidation of [[ethylene]] to [[ethylene oxide]] at 230–270&nbsp;°C. Dehydrogenation of [[methanol]] to [[formaldehyde]] is conducted at 600–720&nbsp;°C over silver gauze or crystals as the catalyst, as is dehydrogenation of [[isopropanol]] to [[acetone]]. In the gas phase, [[glycol]] yields [[glyoxal]] and [[ethanol]] yields [[acetaldehyde]], while organic [[amine]]s are dehydrated to [[nitrile]]s.<ref name="Brumby et al-10" />

===Photography===

Before the advent of [[digital photography]], which is now dominant, the photosensitivity of silver halides was exploited for use in traditional film photography. The [[Photographic emulsion|photosensitive emulsion]] used in black-and-white photography is a suspension of silver halide crystals in [[gelatin]], possibly mixed in with some noble metal compounds for improved photosensitivity, [[Photographic processing|developing]], and {{Clarify span|tuning|date=January 2022}}.

[[Color photography|Colour photography]] requires the addition of special dye components and sensitisers, so that the initial black-and-white silver image couples with a different dye component. The original silver images are bleached off and the silver is then recovered and recycled. Silver nitrate is the starting material in all cases.<ref name="Brumby et al-11">Brumby et al., p. 82</ref>

The market for silver nitrate and silver halides for photography has rapidly declined with the rise of digital cameras. From the peak global demand for photographic silver in 1999 (267,000,000 [[troy ounce]]s or 8,304.6 [[tonne]]s) the market contracted almost 70% by 2013.<ref name="BullionVault">{{cite web |url=http://goldnews.bullionvault.com/silver-bullion-photographic-demand-062120133 |title=A Big Source of Silver Bullion Demand Has Disappeared |access-date=20 July 2014 |publisher=BullionVault}}</ref>

===Nanoparticles===

{{Main|Silver nanoparticle}}

Nanosilver particles, between 10 and 100&nbsp;nanometres in size, are used in many applications. They are used in conductive inks for printed electronics, and have a much lower melting point than larger silver particles of micrometre size.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Junhui |last2=Ahmadi |first2=Maziar |last3=Fargas |first3=Gemma |last4=Perinka |first4=Nikola |last5=Reguera |first5=Javier |last6=Lanceros-Méndez |first6=Senentxu |last7=Llanes |first7=Luis |last8=Jiménez-Piqué |first8=Emilio |date=February 2022 |title=Silver Nanoparticles for Conductive Inks: From Synthesis and Ink Formulation to Their Use in Printing Technologies |journal=Metals |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=234 |doi=10.3390/met12020234 |doi-access=free |issn=2075-4701}}</ref> They are also used medicinally in antibacterials and antifungals in much the same way as larger silver particles.<ref name="Brumby et al-12" /> In addition, according to the [[European Union Observatory for Nanomaterials]] (EUON), silver nanoparticles are used both in pigments, as well as cosmetics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://euon.echa.europa.eu/url|title=Pigments – ECHA|website=euon.echa.europa.eu}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://euon.echa.europa.eu/url|title=Catalogue of cosmetic ingredients – ECHA|website=euon.echa.europa.eu}}{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

===Miscellanea===

[[File:Diwali sweets India 2009.jpg|thumb|A tray of [[South Asian sweets]], with some pieces covered with shiny silver ''vark'']]

Pure silver metal is used as a food colouring. It has the [[E number|E174]] designation and is approved in the [[European Union]].<ref name="Martínez-Abad-2013">{{cite journal |last1=Martínez-Abad |first1=A. |last2=Ocio |first2=M.J. |last3=Lagarón |first3=J.M. |last4=Sánchez |first4=G. |title=Evaluation of silver-infused polylactide films for inactivation of ''Salmonella'' and feline calicivirus ''in vitro'' and on fresh-cut vegetables |journal=International Journal of Food Microbiology |volume=162 |issue=1 |year=2013 |pages=89–94 |doi=10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2012.12.024|pmid=23376782 }}</ref> Traditional Indian and Pakistani dishes sometimes include decorative silver foil known as ''[[vark]]'',<ref name="Sarvate-2005">{{cite news|url=http://indiacurrents.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=b8b860cc0946bef1dbe95caddfe4bcaa |title=Silver Coating |last=Sarvate |first=Sarita |date=4 April 2005 |newspaper=India Currents |access-date=5 July 2009 |author-link=Sarita Sarvate |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090214002122/http://indiacurrents.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=b8b860cc0946bef1dbe95caddfe4bcaa |archive-date=14 February 2009 }}</ref> and in various other cultures, silver ''[[dragée]]'' are used to decorate cakes, cookies, and other dessert items.<ref name="Meisler-2005">{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-dec-18-tm-dragee51-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | title=A Tempest on a Tea Cart | first=Andy | last=Meisler | date=18 December 2005}}</ref>

[[Photochromic lens]]es include silver halides, so that ultraviolet light in natural daylight liberates metallic silver, darkening the lenses. The silver halides are reformed in lower light intensities. Colourless silver chloride films are used in [[Particle detector|radiation detectors]]. [[Zeolite]] sieves incorporating Ag⁺ ions are used to [[Desalination|desalinate]] seawater during rescues, using silver ions to precipitate chloride as silver chloride. Silver is also used for its antibacterial properties for water sanitisation, but the application of this is limited by limits on silver consumption. [[Colloidal silver]] is similarly used to disinfect closed swimming pools; while it has the advantage of not giving off a smell like [[hypochlorite]] treatments do, colloidal silver is not effective enough for more contaminated open swimming pools. Small [[silver iodide]] crystals are used in [[cloud seeding]] to cause rain.<ref name="Brumby et al-12">Brumby et al., pp. 83–84</ref>

The [[Texas Legislature]] designated silver the official precious metal of Texas in 2007.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hatch |first1=Rosie (Ed.) |title=Texas Almanac 2022–2023 |date=2022 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |___location=Austin, Texas |isbn=9781625110664 |page=23}}</ref>

==Precautions==

{{Chembox

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|Section7={{Chembox Hazards

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| GHSPictograms = {{GHS09}}

| GHSSignalWord = Warning

| HPhrases = {{H-phrases|410|}}

| PPhrases = {{P-phrases|273|391|501}}<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/MSDS/MSDS/DisplayMSDSPage.do?country=US&language=en&productNumber=373249&brand=ALDRICH&PageToGoToURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sigmaaldrich.com%2Fcatalog%2Fproduct%2Faldrich%2F373249%3Flang%3Den | title=Msds – 373249|publisher=Sigma Aldrich}}</ref>

| NFPA-H = 0

| NFPA-F = 0

| NFPA-R = 0

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| NFPA_ref =

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Silver compounds have low toxicity compared to those of most other [[heavy metals]], as they are poorly absorbed by the human body when ingested, and that which does get absorbed is rapidly converted to insoluble silver compounds or complexed by [[metallothionein]]. Silver fluoride and silver nitrate are caustic and can cause tissue damage, resulting in [[gastroenteritis]], [[diarrhoea]], falling [[blood pressure]], cramps, paralysis, or [[respiratory arrest]]. Animals repeatedly dosed with silver salts have been observed to experience [[anaemia]], slowed growth, [[necrosis]] of the liver, and fatty degeneration of the liver and kidneys; rats implanted with silver foil or injected with [[colloidal silver]] have been observed to develop localised tumours. [[Route of administration|Parenterally]] admistered colloidal silver causes acute silver poisoning.<ref name="Brumby et al-13">Brumby et al., pp. 88–91</ref> Some waterborne species are particularly sensitive to silver salts and those of the other precious metals; in most situations, silver is not a serious environmental hazard.<ref name="Brumby et al-13" />

In large doses, silver and compounds containing it can be absorbed into the [[circulatory system]] and become deposited in various body tissues, leading to [[argyria]], which results in a blue-grayish pigmentation of the skin, eyes, and [[mucous membrane]]s. Argyria is rare, and so far as is known, does not otherwise harm a person's health, though it is disfiguring and usually permanent. Mild forms of argyria are sometimes mistaken for [[cyanosis]], a blue tint on skin, caused by lack of oxygen.<ref name="Brumby et al-13" /><ref name="Hammond-2004" />

Metallic silver, like copper, is an antibacterial agent, which was known to the ancients and first scientifically investigated and named the [[oligodynamic effect]] by [[Carl Nägeli]]. Silver ions damage the metabolism of bacteria even at such low concentrations as 0.01–0.1&nbsp;milligrams per litre; metallic silver has a similar effect due to the formation of silver oxide. This effect is lost in the presence of [[sulfur]] due to the extreme insolubility of silver sulfide.<ref name="Brumby et al-13" />

Some silver compounds are very explosive, such as the nitrogen compounds silver azide, silver [[amide]], and silver fulminate, as well as [[silver acetylide]], [[silver oxalate]], and silver(II) oxide. They can explode on heating, force, drying, illumination, or sometimes spontaneously. To avoid the formation of such compounds, ammonia and [[acetylene]] should be kept away from silver equipment. Salts of silver with strongly oxidising acids such as [[silver chlorate]] and silver nitrate can explode on contact with materials that can be readily oxidised, such as organic compounds, sulfur and soot.<ref name="Brumby et al-13" />

==See also==

* [[Silver coin]]

* [[Silver medal]]

* [[Free silver]]

* [[List of countries by silver production]]

* [[:Category:Silver compounds|List of silver compounds]]

* [[Silver as an investment]]

* [[Silverpoint]] drawing

==References==

{{reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=

<ref name="Latka-2019">{{cite web|author=Latka, Marcin |title= Silver sarcophagus of Saint Stanislaus |url=https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/418905202840563452/ |work=artinpl |access-date=3 August 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="Panáček-2018">

{{cite journal

| author-last = Panáček

| author-first = Aleš

| author-last2 = Kvítek

| author-first2 = Libor

| author-last3 = Smékalová

| author-first3 = Monika

| author-last4 = Večeřová

| author-first4 = Renata

| author-last5 = Kolář

| author-first5 = Milan

| author-last6 = Röderová

| author-first6 = Magdalena

| author-last7 = Dyčka

| author-first7 = Filip

| author-last8 = Šebela

| author-first8 = Marek

| author-last9 = Prucek

| author-first9 = Robert

| author-last10 = Tomanec

| author-first10 = Ondřej

| author-last11 = Zbořil

| author-first11 = Radek

| date = January 2018

| title = Bacterial resistance to silver nanoparticles and how to overcome it

| journal = Nature Nanotechnology

| volume = 13

| number = 1

| pages = 65–71

| doi = 10.1038/s41565-017-0013-y

| pmid = 29203912

| bibcode = 2018NatNa..13...65P

| s2cid = 26783560

}}</ref>

}}

==Cited sources ==

* {{Ullmann | author1 = Brumby, Andreas |author2=Braumann, Peter|display-authors=1 | year=2008| title = Silver, Silver Compounds, and Silver Alloys | doi = 10.1002/14356007.a24_107.pub2}}

* {{Greenwood&Earnshaw2nd}}

* {{Cite book

|last = Weeks

|first = Mary Elvira

|author-link=Mary Elvira Weeks|author2=Leichester, Henry M.

|year = 1968

|title = Discovery of the Elements

|publisher = Journal of Chemical Education

|___location = Easton, PA

|lccn = 68-15217

|ref = CITEREFWeeks1968

|isbn = 978-0-7661-3872-8

}}

==External links==

{{Sister project links |commons=silver |b=no |n=no |q=silver |s=no |v=no |wikt=silver}}

{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Silver.oga|date=1 September 2005}}

* [http://www.periodicvideos.com/videos/047.htm Silver] at ''[[The Periodic Table of Videos]]'' (University of Nottingham)

* [http://www.silverinstitute.org/ The Silver Institute], [[industry association]] website

* [https://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Elements/047/index.html Collection of silver items and samples] from [[Theodore Gray]]

* [https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0557.html Silver entry] in the ''NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards'' published by the [[U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]]'s [[National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health]]

* [https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/commodities/futures/metals Silver prices] – current [[Spot market|spot prices]] on the global [[commodities market]]s, from [[Bloomberg L.P.]]

{{Periodic table (navbox)}}

{{Silver compounds}}

{{Jewellery}}

{{Authority control}}

{{good article}}

[[Category:Silver| ]]

<font size="-1">'''References:'''<br>

[[Category:Chemical elements]]

[http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/elements/47.html Los Alamos National Laboratory]<br>

[[Category:Transition metals]]

[http://www.webelements.com/webelements/elements/text/Ag/index.html WebElements.com]<br>

[[Category:Noble metals]]

[http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/periodic/Ag.html EnvironmentalChemistry.com]<br>

[[Category:Precious metals]]

[http://www.sunysccc.edu/academic/mst/ptable/ag.html Schenectady County Community College]

[[Category:Cubic minerals]]

----

[[Category:Minerals in space group 225]]

See: [[Periodic Table]]</font>

[[Category:Electrical conductors]]

[[Category:Native element minerals]]

[[Category:E-number additives]]

[[Category:Chemical elements with face-centered cubic structure]]

[[Category:Coinage metals and alloys]]