Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Precious Metals Trivia
(This is an excerpt from the January 2002 issue of "The Recycling Entrepreneur Newsletter")
Trivia Question - Where did the term "sterling" originate?
Answer: The name Sterling Silver designates an alloy consisting
of at least 92.5% pure silver by weight. This is referred to as:
.925, 925/1000, 925/1000s, or simply 925.
Coin silver (90% fine), by comparison, is designated or stamped
as "coin", "coin silver", 900, or 900/1000. Items manufactured in
the U.S. prior to 1906 can be just about anything (regardless of
how they're stamped) because the Congress did not pass a national
gold or silver act until that time.
The origin of the term "Sterling Silver" is shrouded in mystery.
the term dates back to medieval Great Britain, where immigrant
Germans (Easterlings, or 'from the East') were motivated to mine
and refine silver for coinage. They produced a "penny" coin which
consisted of 92.5% pure silver and weighed about 20 grains.
Rumor has it that a statute in 1343 dropped the first two letters
of "Easterling", and the term sterling originated.
Other explanations include the term having come from the stars
imprinted on the coins (Steorling, or coin with a star), or from the
four birds, starlings, on the coins of Edward the Confessor.
As Paul Harvey says, now you know the rest of the story!
Blogged by: Scott D. Andrews
http://recyclebiz.com
(c)2003 - All Rights Reserved
Trivia Question - Where did the term "sterling" originate?
Answer: The name Sterling Silver designates an alloy consisting
of at least 92.5% pure silver by weight. This is referred to as:
.925, 925/1000, 925/1000s, or simply 925.
Coin silver (90% fine), by comparison, is designated or stamped
as "coin", "coin silver", 900, or 900/1000. Items manufactured in
the U.S. prior to 1906 can be just about anything (regardless of
how they're stamped) because the Congress did not pass a national
gold or silver act until that time.
The origin of the term "Sterling Silver" is shrouded in mystery.
the term dates back to medieval Great Britain, where immigrant
Germans (Easterlings, or 'from the East') were motivated to mine
and refine silver for coinage. They produced a "penny" coin which
consisted of 92.5% pure silver and weighed about 20 grains.
Rumor has it that a statute in 1343 dropped the first two letters
of "Easterling", and the term sterling originated.
Other explanations include the term having come from the stars
imprinted on the coins (Steorling, or coin with a star), or from the
four birds, starlings, on the coins of Edward the Confessor.
As Paul Harvey says, now you know the rest of the story!
Blogged by: Scott D. Andrews
http://recyclebiz.com
(c)2003 - All Rights Reserved
