The History of Silver

Ancient History

Anatolia is believed to be the first major producer of silver in the western world. This area which is now modern Turkey was producing excellent metal working as far back as 7000 BC . Around 1900 BC Assyrian merchants from Mesopotamia created a trading network which bought the area wider trade. The NY Metropolitan Museum of Art has an exhibit which you can review in the following link. http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/First_Cities/death_anatolia.htm

The mining of silver transferred to the Hittites an ancient people of Asia Minor and Syria who flourished from 1600 to 1200 B.C.. The Hittites are often mentioned in Egyptian and Jewish records and appear to have been on more or less equal terms with both Babylon and Egypt. Proof of Hittite power can be estimated by the defeated of the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses the second in a struggle to control what is now Syria. The Hittites used silver as the medium of exchanged and flourished at least in part until the rise of the Assyrian. It is worth noting that silver was considered more valuable than gold in Egypt before the discovery of silver in Spain by the Phoenicians. This fact can be traced to gold being found uncombined in nature but silver is rarely found in this state.

Minoan and later Mycenaean http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/myce/hd_myce.htm civilizations became major centers for silver art work after 1600 BC. These two cultures were precursors to the Greek civilization.

The Greek silver mines of Laurion near Athens overlook the Aegean Sea and were a major source of wealth. The Athenian drachma, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_drachma, one of the first silver coins, was minted in that city about 580 BC. It is perhaps not coincidental that Athens declined after the capture of these mines by their major rival the Spartans. Silver mining at Laurion lasted nearly a thousand years from 900 BC to 100 AD.

Rome is the next great player in the history of silver in the western world. The Roman rival the Carthaginians controlled the Spanish silver which Roman took over after the defeat of Carthage in the third Punic War. One interesting side effect of the second Punic war Hannibal was able to put such pressure on Rome that Roman coins dropped dramatically in size and silver content around the 2^nd century BC. Follow this link to see an example of a roman silver coin. http://www.falcophiles.co.uk/facts/romancoin.html Silver was widely used in Rome for daily items like drinking cups as well as coins. Silver was also an essential part of the spice trade with Asia. The second picture on this page shows a silver cup of Roman origin. http://www.rebecca-east.com/artifacts.html The mining of silver in Roman era was done with iron hammers chisels and wedges. The use of bracing ventilating shafts and oil lamps were common. Water wheels and screws powered by humans allowed the Romans to remove water from their mines. Ore containing rock was also removed by fire and the splashing of cold liquids after they were heated. Little changed from Roman mining technologies until the 16^th or 17^th century. In addition to being the major medium of exchange silver was perhaps the most formable ancient antimicrobial (see healing properties of silver).

China

In China silver was extremely rare. When it was first introduced as currency around 200 BC it was quickly withdrawn due to counterfeiting. It was not until sophisticated refining methods were developed in the 10^th century that silver became a common currency. In the 13^th century the Mongolian invaders solidified the use of silver coins which was considered by them to be a natural monetary device. Later silver was banned in favor of paper currency and was not tremendously popular again until the introduction of foreign silver coins.

Middle Ages

Silver was produced in continuing greater quantities after the breakup of the Roman empire. From 500 to 1500 AD almost 2 billion ounces of silver are estimated to have been produced in Europe. Spain continued to be the primary producer, however with the conquest of Spain by the Muslims sources in Germany, Austria, and eastern Europe became increasingly important. Silver remained the primary median of exchange. It is the middle ages that give us the term Sterling, which comes from the name of the English penny from this time period.

Silver Denar from Spain around 1300 AD

Silver in the New World

The discovery of the Americas in the late 15^th century greatly altered the world supply of silver. It is estimated that over 80 percent of the world supply came from the New World. Although Columbus found the American continent in 1492, it was not until 1513 that significant quantities of silver began to flow to Spain. Cortes in Mexico, Balboa in Panama, and Pizarro in Peru, made conquests that would lead to significant new sources for silver. Most of this new silver was taken from native Americans not mined, but by 1550 mercury amalgamation had been introduced to the colonist and silver mining became significant. Potosi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potos%C3%AD in Peru, in an area of what is now Bolivia, became one of the major sources. Potosi accounted for as much as 60 percent of New World production. The story of Potosi is in part made interesting by the extreme altitude that mines were located in. Short working hours due to the altitude and the need to deliver mercury from distant mines made the production at Potosi especially difficult. Declining purity of the ore, and increasing cost lead to the decline of mining in this area by the 1600s. The other great silver mine of Spanish America was located in Mexico at Zacatecas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacatecas%2C_Zacatecas Mexico It is this area that makes Mexico the largest producer of silver today. The size of the ore containing veins of silver at Zacatecas are remarkable, the largest is over a mile and a half in length and almost 2000 feet in height and 10 feet in width. Even with the tremendous amounts of silver leaving the Americas it was not long until Spain was unable to sustain it's empire. Spain used almost all the wealth coming out of the new world for food and other necessities that it was unable to produce itself.

Silver in the American West

Perhaps the most famous mineral find in history happened in 1859 near Virginia City Nevada. The Comstock lode became a world famous moniker, synonymous with rich discoveries. As often happens it was the search for gold that lead to the amazing discovery. The blue muck that made gold prospecting difficult was actually one of the highest yielding silver deposits ever discovered. Total production of the Comstock area to date is estimated at least 150 million ounces. The Comstock name comes not from the discoverer of the ore deposits but from a man who claimed to have prior rights to the location. The men who discovered the ore agreed to make him a partner to avoid trouble. Comstock sold the rights shortly thereafter and lost his share through poor business practices. Comstock ended up committing suicide while prospecting. Perhaps the most significant aspect of the Comstock mining era is the improvements in mining technologies that were needed to work the difficult location. Square set timbering, compressed air drills, small hoisting engines and forced air ventilation are among the technologies developed. For additional information on the Comstock Lode try the following links http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/nevada/virginia.htm http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~gulino/ghosttown/virginiacity_nv.htm

The crown for the richest silver mind passed from Nevada to the Horn Silver Mine in Utah in 1875. The Horn mine produced over $20 million over a period of 5 decades. The Horn name comes from the oddity that the ore curled when exposed to air and resembling a horn silver horn. The mine is most famous for a tremendous collapse which broke windows in building 15 miles away. It took a year for production to resume and during that time the town of Frisco where the mine was located lost most of it's population. http://historytogo.utah.gov/utah_chapters/mining_and_railroads/whenthehornsilverminecrashedin.html http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~libei-p/scadb/imagedisplay.cfm?item_num=1248&type=Image

Silver Today

By 1967 the demand for silver for industrial purposes exceeded world wide production leading to the US government removing all silver coins from production. A few of the common industrial uses are:

Silver nitrate, hair dyes, antiseptic, manufacturing ink, mirrors, silver plating.

Silver oxide, sterilization of water.

Silver iodide, photography. cloud seeding.

Silver acetate laboratory reagent and oxidizing agent

Industrial silver demand remains high with demand exceeding supply for over a decade. This excess demand has made silver prices volatile as recently as 1980 the demand pushed the price to over $40 an ounce as compared to the 2005 price of under $10. The superconductivity technology could push demands for silver over the top. A superconductive transmission line from coast to coast would need nearly 100 million tons of silver or over a quarter of the current world supply.

Healing properties of Silver

Medicinal use of silver is very ancient. Silver dressings were used by Egyptians to aid in the treatment of burns. The use of silver for eating and utensils was not only a natural use of an aesthetic material but was believed to aid in preventing infections. Before modern antibacterial were available the swallowing of silver coins was commonly believed to aid in healing. Some ancient people believed that silver vessels used to store water had healing powers. It is in fact true that storing water in silver vessels reduces microbial proliferation. Uses for silver continue to increase, recently Curad introduced Silver natural antibacterial bandages. Burn units in hospitals have long used silver solution soaked bandages. As it becomes more well known that silver has anti fungal properties new products emerge, you can now purchase silver ion socks for you feet. Silver seems to be making a strong come back as a natural healing treatment. It has been scientifically demonstrated that Silver's toxicity to many pathogens results from interference with the enzymes germs need to digest food. This process of sterilization may become even more important as germs develop resistance to drugs.

Medical Applications

While silver's importance as a bactericide has been documented only since the late 1800s, its use in purification has been known throughout the ages. Early records indicate that the Phoenicians, for example, used silver vessels to keep water, wine and vinegar pure during their long voyages. In America, pioneers moving west put silver and copper coins in their water barrels to keep it clean.

In fact, "born with a silver spoon in his mouth" is not a reference to wealth, but to health. In the early 18th century, babies who were fed with silver spoons were healthier than those fed with spoons made from other metals, and silver pacifiers found wide use in America because of their beneficial health effects.

Silver also has a variety of uses in pharmaceuticals. In fact, silver sulfadiazine is the most powerful compound for burn treatment. It is used by every hospital in North America for burn victims to kill bacteria and allow the body to naturally restore the burn area. It is used world-wide. It is sold under the trade name of Silvadiene. In another application polyurethane central venous catheters impregnated with silver sulfadiazine and chlorhexidine to eliminate catheter-related bacteriemia are supplied by Arrow International, Reading, PA.

In a world concerned with the spreading of virus and disease, silver is increasingly being tapped for its bactericidal properties and used in treatments for conditions ranging from severe burns to Legionnaires Disease.

Water Purification

Silver is employed as a bactericide and algaecide in an ever increasing number of water purification systems in hospitals, remote communities and, more recently, domestic households.

Silver ions have been used to purify drinking water and swimming pool water for generations. New research into silver compounds is providing physicians with powerful, clinically effective treatments against which bacteria cannot develop resistance.

An increasing trend is the millions of on-the-counter and under-the-counter water purifiers that are sold each year in the United States to rid drinking water of bacteria, chlorine, trihalomethanes, lead, particulates, and odor. Here silver is used to prevent the buildup of bacteria and algae in the filters. Of the billions of dollars spent yearly in the U.S. for drinking water purification systems, over half make advantageous use of the bactericidal properties of silver. New research has shown that the catalytic action of silver, in concert with oxygen, provides a powerful sanitizer, virtually eliminating the need for the use of corrosive chlorine.

The following link illustrates the emerging importance of silver in today's fight against fungal infections. http://www.fraunhofer.de/fhg/Images/magazine_2-2006_48_tcm6-64691.pdf