The Myth and Value of Silver in Ancient Egypt

Everybody knows that the Egyptians were one of the most advanced ancient civilizations in the world. From their massive pyramids to their glorious artworks to their gods, Egyptian ideas and beliefs trigger a bewildering mystique which never fails to fascinate people, even to this day and age. Thus, it will be interesting to look at the history of silver in old time Egypt.

In the beginning, there was no silver in Egypt. Since they didn't have a word for this metal, they simply referred to it as "white metal." When they first realized that there's such a commodity as silver, the Egyptians thought it's a form of gold, which they had in abundance. Such was the rarity of silver in the Old Kingdom that they valued it higher than gold, until the Middle Kingdom, when the silver became more readily available. By then, silver was valued at about half that of gold. According to Egyptian myth, the skin of the gods was composed of gold, while their bones were composed of silver.

Other than a variety of items like jewelry, artworks, and vessels, silver was also used to construct the coffins of some rulers, notably, Psuseness I and Sheshonq II, in the 21st and 22nd dynasty respectively. By the Middle Kingdom, the Egyptians had developed an abstract valuation system based on precious metals like copper, silver, and gold. Initially, the "shat" was a flat silver disk weighing about 7.5g, and the deben weighed about 90g. When the 18th dynasty approached its end, a cow could be exchanged for eight shat of silver while a basic house could be built for ten shat. However, the use of silver as valuation of most items decreased when the New Kingdom neared its end.

Today, ancient Egyptian silver artifacts would certainly fetch top dollar for silver in the market. Now, you can contact your favorite silver buyer to learn more about instant cash for silver!