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German Silver Compared to Sterling Silver

People often confuse German silver and sterling silver. Both are shiny white metals and both are used in jewelry, serving pieces, flatware and decorative accents. But beneath the shiny surface, these two metals are not at all alike. For instance, one has a high intrinsic value based just on its weight while the value of the other depends entirely on what it's been made into.

Metals Compared
- The metal known as German silver has no silver content whatsoever. It is an alloy made of 60 percent copper, 20 percent nickel and 20 percent zinc. It resembles silver in appearance but has a faint yellow-gray tinge and is much harder than sterling silver. Because of the nickel content, German silver also is known as nickel silver, but again there is no silver in it. Sterling silver is an alloy as well but it's made of 92.5 percent silver and 7.5 percent copper. Silver by itself is too soft to hold a shape and resist wear. The copper alloy makes the silver harder.
German Silver Confusion
- There are more reasons than appearance for German silver/sterling silver confusion. For instance, makers of high-quality silver-plated flatware and hollowware use German silver as the base metal and electroplate it with sterling silver. Such pieces often are marked "EPNS" for electroplated nickel silver. German silver can tarnish on exposure to air and will turn your skin green with prolonged contact. German silver objects sometimes are marked "G silver."
More Confusion
- Confusing things even more is that German silversmiths make fine jewelry and other fine objects from silver alloys. These items may be called German silver because they are of a silver alloy and were made in Germany. An 1886 law made 80 percent silver the minimum national standard for silver objects made in Germany. The law also specifies a standard hallmark for silver German objects consisting of a crescent moon to the left of an imperial crown and the fineness of the silver alloy to the right. German silversmiths make objects of 80 percent, 83 percent, 83.5 percent, 90 percent, 92.5 percent and 93.5 percent silver.
Real Silver
- Real silver is an element with the chemical symbol Ag, has an atomic number of 47, atomic weight of 107.87, and melts at 1,763.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Silver has been refined and prized by people for more than 3,000 years, and it is a traditional wedding gift. The German silver alloy, by contrast, was invented in the early 19th century. Silver's name was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for the metal "siolfur" while the chemical symbol Ag comes from the Latin word for the metal "argentum." It is sometimes found as a free metal but generally must be refined from silver ore. Silver can tarnish when exposed to sulfur compounds in the air.

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