A brief history
Silver has attracted man’s fascination for many thousands of years. It was discovered after gold and copper in about 4000 B.C., and was generally found in copper or lead mineralization. Relics from these times include jewelry, religious artifacts, and food vessels.
The first sophisticated processing of silver ore was attributed to the Chaldeans in about 2500 B.C. The need for traditional silver resulted in the location and exploitation of silver deposits in what is now Armenia.
As early as 700 B.C., the Mesopotamian merchants used silver as a form of exchange. Later, many other civilizations also came to recognize the inherent value of silver as a trading metal. Coins, in the sense of having an authenticating stamp on them, began to appear in the eastern Mediterranean during 550 B.C. By 269 B.C. Rome adopted silver as part of its standard coinage.
A few coins made of 99.9% pure silver:
In the last two centuries, major silver mines discoveries and a variety of improvements in technology (steam-assisted drilling, mining, mine dewatering, improved haulage, bulk mining methods, refinement of extraction and electrorefining techniques) allowed for increased production worldwide.
As of 2005, the ten largest silver-producing countries are Peru, Mexico, Australia, China, Chile, Russia, Poland, the United States, Canada, and Kazakhstan.
