Silver Notes

Five silver figurines from the Better Than Bullion collection showing different surface states — a mirror-bright teddy bear, an iridescently toned armoured knight on a gilt base, a black-patinated jewelled figure, and a matte grey character figurine
Tarnish, Toning and the Cleaning That Destroys Value
Why tarnish is not damage, how silver produces rainbow colour out of pure physics, which cleaning methods permanently destroy value, and the everyday materials quietly attacking your collection. Read more...
An intact sterling silver fox figurine beside a pile of loose silver casting grain, showing the same metal as an object and as melt
Spot, Melt and Premium: What a Silver Figurine Is Actually Worth
How to calculate actual silver weight in two minutes, why the troy ounce is named after a French market town, and what the premium above melt is really buying. Read more...
Four silver figurines shown from below with their purity stamps — an Art Deco penguin marked 925, a hand-poured dragon marked 999, a Victorian owl marked 800, and a toy robot marked EPNS with copper showing through worn plating
Silver Marks and Terms: What's Stamped, What's Claimed, and What Means Nothing
The purity stamps worth knowing, the plate marks that mean base metal, the alloy names that mean nothing at all, and the wear pattern that beats every mark. Read more...
Silver testing tools arranged from simplest to most advanced — a magnet, coloured acid bottles with a touchstone, a handheld electronic verifier and a professional XRF analyser, with a sterling silver fox figurine
Is It Really Silver? Every Test From Amateur to Professional
Every way to test silver, from free to five figures: eyes, magnet, acid, electronic verifiers, XRF and ultrasound. What each one actually proves, and the popular test you should skip. Read more...