What is Sterling Silver?

You’ve heard the term “Sterling Silver”, typically when referring to fine dining flatware, serving pieces or quality jewelry, but what exactly is sterling silver?

Sterling silver is an alloy (a combination of metals) containing 92.5% of pure silver and 7.5% of other metals.  Typically the other metal selected for the alloy is copper.  Fine [ read more ]

Big Surge in Gold Prices Spurs Major Business Increase at Cash for Gold USA

Los Angeles, California – Cash for Gold USA has reported a major increase in business this week as a result of the major surge in the spot price for gold, silver and platinum. At 9 AM today, gold was at $996/oz while silver exceeded $16.00/oz and platinum topped $1,267/oz.

According to Norman Schneider, president, “Sellers have really reacted [ read more ]

Postcards from Silver Peak, Nevada

Have you ever been to a ghost town? Don't be afraid. A ghost town is NOT a town full of ghosts! The term refers to a deserted town that's uninhabited by people so it follows that the town is a ghost of its former self, serving no purpose at all. If you are in the state of Nevada and you want to see what a ghost town looks like, head towards Silver [ read more ]

What's a Silver Song Club?

When your hair turns silver and your days pass before your eyes like mist in the mirror, what can you do to slow the boat of time? Some go to the parks for slow meditative walks. Some play bridge until the cows come home. Some watch TV until their necks sour. Yet, some roll back the years to find new pleasures or pursue their forgotten [ read more ]

Great Family Fun at Silver Lake Michigan

As summer goes into full bloom, let's take a look at a great place to bring your family for a wild vacation. If you are in the Midwest or Michigan is not too far away, Silver Lake State Park offers great fun for the entire family. Located in Mears on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, Silver Lake State Park is close to 3000 acres in size.

One of [ read more ]

The Silver Summit 2009

From September 24 to 25, 2009, The Silver Summit will take place in Spokane, Washington. Billed as "The World's Premiere Silver Investment Conference," you can expect to learn a lot about silver investment in this event. Since registration has not yet begun, it's a good idea to look at the five anchor companies.

Hecla Mining Company

Started [ read more ]

Essence of Silver Gifts

When you are brainstorming for a special gift for a loved one, you should consider silver. Though it may be a little more expensive than other conventional gifts, a gift of silver is an offering of goodwill and good taste. Be it a silver necklace or a letter opener, silver shines and lasts. Needless to say, the intrinsic value of silver makes it [ read more ]

A Bad Valentine's Day Gift Could Net You Sterling Silver Jewelry

Valentine's Day is normally a time for love and sharing. People give candy, flowers, and gifts of all sorts, including fine jewelry...maybe even some lovely pieces of sterling silver jewelry, perhaps?

However, as with all gift-giving occasions, it is also a time for gaffes. Whenever one person is tasked with giving something to another, there [ read more ]

The Mildenhall Treasure

In 1942, a major discovery of Roman silver was made on a cold day in quiet Thistley Green. Now on display in the British Museum, the Mildenhall Treasure is comprised of 33 silver household objects believed to be from the 4th century AD. The most fascinating piece is called the Great Dish, measuring 60.5cm in diameter and weighing 0.826kg. On the [ read more ]

Silver Alerts

Much like Amber Alerts are used to help the authorities find missing children, Silver Alerts were intended to help the authorities find people who are older.  Systems like the Amber Alert and the Silver Alert were put into place you assist people who in many cases are unable to assist themselves.  When I first heard about Silver Alerts, for some [ read more ]

Roy Saari-Pioneering Olympic Silver and Gold Medal Winner

The world of athletic swimming recently lost one of its greats--Roy Saari.

Roy Saari won a silver medal in the 400-meter individual medley and a gold medal in the 4x200-meter freestyle competitions at the 1963 Olympic Games in Tokyo. He also finished seventh in the 1,500 meter freestyle and it is said that this ranking was due in part to the [ read more ]

Germ-fighting Silver

Silver, once a rather old-fashioned and at times controversial antibacterial agent, is being used more and more as a germ fighter. Silver is all around you everyday, although you may not be aware of all of the uses for silver. Silver is one of those metals that has so many uses. If you didn’t know, silver is more than just a pretty, shiny metal. [ read more ]

Will Sterling Silver Wedding Rings Catch On?

When it comes to jewelry, some metals take hold for certain purposes and it seems as if other metals do not stand a chance. But as is often the case in life, things do not stay the same forever.

For an untold number of years gold has been the metal of choice for wedding rings. Gold represented quality, durability and quality. Many brides could [ read more ]

Showering with Silver?

Previously on this blog, we were discussing the differing opinions about the potential medical benefits of silver. Silver has been thought to be an antibiotic since ancient times, but today’s medical professionals warn that it is to be used with caution. It will probably do little harm to buy band-aids that contain silver, although some doctors [ read more ]

Silver Rush Accompanies Gold Rush

Although they are not the same and some people do not value them equally, gold and silver have always been linked to each other. These two metals don't really compete, so much as they are more like teammates. It stands the reason that whatever effects gold and the price of gold will also have an effect on the market for silver.

Lately, there [ read more ]

Thief Steals Sterling Silver

Not too long ago, we told you about how law enforcement officials in North Carolina were looking for a man who decided to get some silver the easy way—by stealing it from a pawn shop. Unfortunately for him, the store had a surveillance camera, so the police do have some idea of what he looks like. We certainly hope they catch this silver coin [ read more ]

Thief Steals Silver Coins

Law enforcement officials in North Carolina are on the lookout for a man who thought that he could get his hands on some silver coins the easy way: by stealing them. Apparently this man managed to get into a store that functioned as both an antiques dealer and pawn shop. This shop has some silver coins on display and the thief made off with them. [ read more ]

Selling Scrap Silver

Scrap silver and scrap metal is serious business. If you don't think that is the case, just ask the transportation authority for a city like Washington D.C. Each month passengers in the DC Metro system leave behind an unimaginable amount of keys on buses and trains. These keys likely fell out of pockets or were being tossed and jangled and somehow [ read more ]

Selling the Family Silver is a Smart Move

There is an expression that people sometimes use about selling the family silver. Depending on the context this expression can be seen as insulting. There really is not insult in selling silver. Selling silver and other assets is a smart move if you find that you need to increase the amount of money in your coffers. It is also a good step if you [ read more ]

Selling Silver Coins

Silver coins are increasing in value, so if you have silver coins that you want to sell, now may be the time to trade them in to get Instant Cash For Silver. You will get great value if you decide to sell silver coins at this time. To learn more about the market for silver, visit The Bullion Desk.

Unlike now, when silver coins [ read more ]

Sell Single Silver Serving Pieces

When it comes to selling silver, there are so many possible objects that you can sell. Of course, there is silver jewelry, silver coins and silver bars. But have you also considered silver serving pieces? You may not have an entire set of silver that is completely intact, but you likely have a few pieces that you can sell.

There are [ read more ]

Get Cash for Your Silver Treasures

Just the other day that show where people show up to a convention center with treasures they've fished out of the attic or heirlooms that have been in their families for years was on TV. Time and time again people are astonished to learn that some old blanket or vase or rocking chair is really worth a lot of money.
Then there are the people who [ read more ]

Silver Hallmarks

There are so many SILVER HALLMARKS and they all have very interesting histories.

Sometimes a silver manufacturer will simply put their name on their products. These hallmarks are the easiest to make out. When you have pieces of silver that bears a company name, then you have no doubt about the origins of a piece of silver. Sometimes a silver [ read more ]

What Do You Know About Sterling Silver?

What do you really know about STERLING SILVER? That is one of those phrases that we have heard so often, we don't really think about what it means. Most often seeing the word "sterling" in front of silver makes one think of quality and this is certainly not an incorrect idea. Sterling silver is mostly used to make silverware and jewelry. Sterling [ read more ]

What Silver Can Mean for You

The history of silver is very interesting. In the Spanish language the word for silver is plata. There are some places in Central and South America where this word is still used to refer to money of all types. This dates back to the time when silver coins were a main currency in these areas. Although silver coins are no longer the main currency, [ read more ]

Silver Has Many Uses

You are probably used to seeing silver used in jewelry and coins, but silver has many more uses that these. Silver is all around you every day, although you may not be aware of all of the uses for silver. Silver is one of those metals that has so many uses, not the least of which selling it to get Instant Cash For [ read more ]

Half Dollar Silver Coins

Before the mid-1960s, dimes, quarters and half dollars minted in the United States were minted of almost entirely of silver. Copper made up a small percentage (about 10%) of these coins. Although half dollar silver coins were made of 90% silver until the mid-1960s there was a big change in their composition soon after that. Silver half dollar [ read more ]

Silver Bars are In Demand

Just this past week police confronted employees of a silver refining and manufacturing company who were stealing silver from their own employer. The first man was caught by police right outside of the building. His accomplice soon came crawling out of the exhaust vent. These men went through a lot in their attempt to defraud their employer and [ read more ]