About
The precious metal silver comes from the element Argentum, the Latin word meaning bright or shining. Discovered sometime around 4000 BCE, silver ore was first mined in order to make ornamental objects.
In the 11th and 12th century, in what we now call the British Isles, silver pennies were printed with a small star. A penny like this was called a steorling (most likely pronounced like "sterling") in Old English, meaning "coin with star." These steorlings were made up of 92.5% pure silver, with an alloy of 7.5% copper, just like sterling silver today. It was discovered that the alloy was just as beautiful as pure silver, but stronger by leaps and bounds.
Many recognized the advantage of a precious metal that was both beautiful and durable: two traits that are ideal in a favorite piece of jewelry.
