Silver is widely distributed in nature, but in comparison with other metals it is found relatively rarely.  Silver crystals are uncommon, and occur occasionally as cubes or wiry aggregates.  Scaly, dendritic, and massive habits (the shape of how silver tends to form) are more common.  Although much of the world’s silver production is a byproduct of refining copper, lead, and zinc, deposits of native silver are also commercially important.  As a metal for jewelry or coinage, silver is harder than gold but softer than copper.   In comparison to gold, silver is the most malleable and ductile metal.  The chemical symbol for Silver is Ag, which is derived from the Latin word for silver, Argentum, which in turn derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "white" or "shining."

The earliest silver ornaments and decorations have been found in tombs dating bask as far as 4000 B.C., and silver coinage appeared not far behind that of gold, around 550 B.C.  But it is in modern times that silver’s physical properties have brought it into its own as a metal.  By the 1960’s, the demand for silver for industrial purposes exceeded the total world production.  With its superior electrical and thermal conductivity, silver finds use in electrical circuits, and it is alloyed with nickel or palladium for use in electrical contacts.  As a catalyst, silver has a unique ability to convert ethylene to ethylene oxide, a precursor of many organic compounds.  But the largest single use of silver is in the photographic industry, which uses 60 percent of all silver production.  Its use in silverware, ornaments, and jewelry continues to be important, although few countries retain silver coinage.  Pure silver is too soft to wear well, unless it is hammered, so it is alloyed with other metals to increase its durability.  Sterling Silver is 92.5% silver with another metal, usually copper, making up the other 7.5%.

The earliest known silver mines of any size were those of the pre-Hittites of Cappadocia in Anatolia (Turkey), where it may have been mined as early as 4,000 B.C.  Today, the major silver mining areas are Peru, the United States, Canada, Russia, Australia, and Kazakhstan, but the greatest single producer of silver is probably Mexico, where silver has been mined since about 1,500 A.D.