Silver

Hardness: 2,5-3 Color: silver-white, yellowish, gray, black Formula: Ag Crystal System: cubic

The chemical symbol (Ag) and the latin name of silver ’argentum’ might be originated from the greek word ’argyros’ (silver). The english word silver evolved from the old english ’seolfor/siolfor’ word which has a forgetten meaning. Argentina was named after the silver (argentum) in the 16th century because more inca silver mines worked on its territory. The silver is mined for more thousands of years. For a period of time in the ancient Egypt silver was more expensive than gold. Silver is extracted from silver consisting minerals, but clean silver can be found too. That may contain sometimes gold, copper, mercury etc. It can be located in hydrothermal veins and in oxidation zones of ore deposits. Its crystals (octahedron, cube) are rare, mostly appears in massive sprinkled shapes or nest like, tressy, fibrous, wiry, dendrite like small trees or feather or hair, lamellar, squamous. While it turns up its surface has a shining metallic silver color, which becomes gray due to air relatively fast, later gets yellowish, brownish or black. At its thin parts it may be bluish transparent. It has many uses in electronics, medical applications, building industry and of course jewels and ornaments are made of it. Its classic and mostly exhausted European locations are Spain (La Mancha, Catalonia), Germany (Freiberg, Schneeberg), Czech Republic (Príbram), Norway (Kongsberg), in the medieval Hungarian Selmecbánya which is today Banská Stiavnica, Slovakia. It is also mined in Mexico, Canada, Bolivia, Russia etc.