Silver is a precious metal known for its shiny, lustrous appearance and high electrical conductivity. It is soft, malleable, and ductile, making it ideal for crafting jewelry, coins, utensils, and industrial applications. Pure silver, known as “fine silver” or “999 silver,” is 99.9% pure but is too soft for most practical uses, so it is often alloyed with other metals, like copper, to improve its durability (as in sterling silver).

Silver has antimicrobial properties, making it useful in medicine and water purification. It is also used in electronics due to its excellent conductivity, in solar panels, and in photography (historically, for developing photographs through silver halide processes). Unlike gold, silver tarnishes when exposed to sulfur compounds in the air, forming a layer of silver sulfide, which can be polished away. Silver is often valued both as a commodity and an investment, traded on global markets.