One of the earliest attestations of the term is in Old French form esterlin, in a charter of the abbey of Les Préaux, … See more

A piece of sterling silver dating from Henry II's reign was used as a standard in the Trial of the Pyx until it was deposited at the Royal Mint in 1843. It bears the royal stamp ENRI. REX ("King Henry") but this was added later, in th… See more

Some countries developed systems of hallmarking silver:
• To indicate the purity of the silver alloy used in the manufacture or hand-crafting of the piece.
• To identify the silversmith or company th… See more

Individual eating implements often included:
• forks (dinner fork, salad fork, pastry fork, or shrimp fork)
• spoons (teaspoon, coffee spoon, demitasse spoon, iced tea spoon) and… See more

Silver is not a very reactive metal and does not react with oxygen or water at ordinary temperatures, so does not easily oxidize. However, it is attacked by common components of atmospheric pollution. Silver sulfide slowly … See more

• Britannia silver, a higher grade silver alloy (95.8% compared to Sterling silver's 92.5%)
• Argentium sterling silver, a higher grade silver alloy with unique working properties (93.6% or 96%)… See more