Silver - Collecting

Collecting silver is one of the many specialized phases of antique collecting. It requires considerable study by the uninitiated, for the average person can't distinguish between sterling silver and German silver. German silver, of course, is not silver at all, but rather an alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel.

Silver and gold were first used in Europe by Greeks and Romans for jewelry, utensils, and vases; the Egyptians worked precious metals before 2000 B.C. Another popular metal commonly used then was electrum, a mixture of gold and silver, also known as "white gold.1'

Excavations in Antioch (once Syria and now Turkey) and in Egypt have unearthed gold and silver pieces that were made during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries. Some of these are privately owned, notably the Antioch chalice, but most of them are now displayed at the London Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and at the fabulous museum in Cairo, Egypt.

During the first six centuries of the Christian era, Greece and Persia were the main sources of chalices and other vessels used in the churches. The first English silver was wrought during the Norman occupation, but all traces of it have disappeared. Gold and silver were also produced many centuries ago in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, and Holland.

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