As early as 3100 BC, ambassadors from Crete brought silver vessels as gifts to the Egyptian king. Throughout the millennia, silver has been highly prized for its beauty, malleability, non-corrosive nature, conductivity, and its bactericidal properties. Today, about a third of the world’s production of silver goes toward the making of tableware and jewelry.

Silver bullion is almost invariably 99.9% pure but, because the resultant material is far too soft for everyday use, sterling silver—the silver you see most often—is composed of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. The term “sterling” traces its root to the 12th century when five towns in eastern Germany banded together to from the Hanseatic League in order to engage in more substantial commerce with England. The league paid for English cattle and grain with its own silver coins called Easterlings. Historians believe that under the reign of King Henry II, Britain used the highly-dependable Easterling as the basis for standardizing the isle's coinage. Over time, the name has been simply shortened to sterling and still refers both to the English monetary system and silver that is by law 92.5% pure.

Though Grissom’s specializes in gold and platinum jewelry, our expert casters can also serve all of your silver needs.