While gold is always regarded as the most precious metal, the importance and value of silver cannot be neglected. Silver is a fascinating metal that has been part of our history and even some religious rites. Silver is more than just a fancy flatware or jewellery. Now, people start to invest in silver. In fact, silver is used in various industries including industrial, electrical, dentistry and medicine and is also a widely traded commodity.
Indeed, the popularity of silver in trading market is not long ago, but now many traders has tried silver. Silver market is more volatile than gold, but it still offers an equally impressive hedge against inflation and market fluctuations as gold.
If you are not comfortable with the price of gold, now, you may get interested on silver. But before you dig into the market, below are some interesting facts about silver you might not know.
- Silver was the first metal to be used as currency, more than 4,000 years ago.
- In ancient Egypt, Silver was valued higher than gold. It was more rare than Gold at that time.
- The first Silver US dollar coin was minted in 1794.
The First Silver US Dollar
- In 1904, there was an abundance of silver coins and silver mining had slowed down, so production was ceased till 1921.
- The word "Silver" originates from the English Anglo-Saxon word "seolfor".
- "Silver" means "money" in more than 14 different languages including French, Thai, Swahili, and Welsh.
- Silver is the best conductor of heat and electricity. Definitely one of the very valuable elements on earth.
- The biggest producer of Silver is Mexico and the biggest buyer of Silver is United States of America (as of 2016).
Mexican Silver - The global Silver reserves amount to around 530,000 tonnes, about 3 times more than that of Gold.
- The modern Olympic Gold Medal is made of Sterling Silver, which is then plated with 6 grams of pure gold.
Wayne Ko
Head of Research and Education
