The terms “sterling” and “pound sterling” acquired their meaning
in more than a century, and from convergent sources. There are
three possible origins for the word “sterling”. Two originate from
12th and 13th century coinage, and one is generally discounted.
The word could have derived from the Old English word “stiere”,
meaning “strong, firm, immovable”.

An alternative explanation put forth by Walter de Pinchebek circa
1300 is that sterling silver may have been known first as “Easterling
Silver”. The term “Easterling Silver” is believed to have been used
to refer to the grade of silver that had originally been used as the
local currency in an area of Germany, known as “The Easterling”.

This “Easterling” area consisted of five towns in northern Germany
that banded together in the 12th century under …

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U.S. auto sales remained at the lowest annual rate in 15 years,
in July 2008. That fueled concerns that demand will decline for
platinum and palladium for auto-emissions control parts. Production
in South Africa, the source of 78 % of the world’s supply, has stabilized
after power shortages disrupted mines in January. As of August 1,
2008 the production of Platinum was reported at 36,282 ounces.

The rout in the platinum group of metals continues to unfold …

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Naturally occurring platinum and platinum rich alloys have been
known about for centuries. Though the metal was used by pre-
Columbian Native Americans (Aztec, Mayan, Inca, Moche, Chibcha,
and Canaras), the first European reference to platinum appears in
1557 in the writings of the Italian humanist Julius Caesar Scaliger
(1484–1558) as a description of a mysterious metal found in Central
American mines between Darién (Panama) and Mexico (“up until
now impossible to melt by any of the Spanish arts”). The word
platinum comes from the Spanish word platina, meaning “little
silver.”

Platinum was discussed by astronomers Antonio de Ulloa and Don
Jorge Juan y Santacilia (1713–1773), both appointed by King Philip V
to join a geographical expedition in Peru that lasted from 1735 to
1745. Amongst other things, Ulloa observed the platina del pinto,
the unworkable metal found with gold. British privateers intercepted
Ulloa’s ship on the return voyage. Though he was well treated in
England, and even made a member …

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A lot of people are familiar with bullion coins and bars, and you
see them offered on TV or on websites, but the sheer number
of these products may cause even the experienced investor to
pause. They are similar in nature, they move up or down directly
with the price of gold, silver, or platinum on a daily basis. And,
their buy and sell prices are easy to comprehend.

They are precious metals and as such are measured by the Troy
ounce, as compared to your bathroom or postal scale weight which
is called Avoirdupois. For the record 14.58 troy ounces = 16 postal
scale ounces. The Troy ounce is approximately 10% heavier than
the Avoirdupois weight. These bullion products move directly with
the New York Commodity Exchange, which opens for trading at
5:30 AM and closes at 10:30 AM California time. After the Comex
(Commodity Exchange) closes the price of these …

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Governments issue coins which have a nominal value assigned to
them when they are minted, this value is virtually always clouded
by the commodity value of the metal itself. For example, most
government issued gold coins have a currency value of between
$10USD and $100USD, but normally contain at least one troy
ounce of gold, Silver, Platinum or the metal they’re minted in.
Given that the exchange rate of gold, Silver or any commodity
rises and falls over time, as do other things in the stock market.
They are a good investment, and better than most because of
their stability. From the beginning of the twenty-first century
as an example, Gold was worth about $350USD per troy ounce,
at the closing of the market on 8/1/08 it’s value was $912.50USD,
 and in contrast Silver a year ago was woth $12.00USD and closed
on 8/1/08 at $17.47. So it can be can seen that the government-
assigned currency value of a bullion coin is essentially meaningless.

The value of bullion is determined by three factors: the metal, the
weight and  it’s purity. The metal the bullion is comprised of is
obviously important in determining its overall value …

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Today, common standards include the following:

* Coin Silver -
This is a U.S. standard and is an alloy of 90% silver and 10%
copper. 
* Sterling Silver -
This describes any alloy that contains at least 92.5% silver. 
* Mexican Silver -
This standard from our friends to the south is an alloy of 95%
silver and 5% other metal(s) — usually copper. (Most silver
jewelry from Mexico is using the sterling standard these days.)
* Britannia Silver -
Even more pure than Mexican silver, Britannia silver has no
less than 958.4 parts per 1000 of silver, and no more than
41.6 parts per 1000 of copper. Operationally, silver of this
quality is marked in the U.K. and Ireland  as “958 silver.”
* Fine Silver -
Most of us would rather have a sterling reputation than a fine
one, but in the world of silver, “fine silver” is almost as good as
it gets.  Fine silver is 999 parts per 1000 of silver.  This level
of purity is found in bullion bars bought for the underlying value
of the silver, fine silver is usually too soft to be used in most
applications.
The United States adopted a silver standard based on the “Spanish
milled dollar” in 1785. This was codified in the 1792 Mint and Coinage
Act, and by the Federal Government’s use of the “Bank of the United
States” to hold its reserves, as well as establishing a fixed ratio of gold
to the U.S. dollar. This was, in effect, a derivative silver standard, since
the bank was not required to keep silver to back up …

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Extraction of silver from lead ore was widespread in Britain with the
Romans being in control of the isle’s, as a result one of the most
prosperous processes of Britain Mining was to provide wealth to
the Roman Empire, soon after the conquest of the first century AD.

The European settlers found a huge amount of silver in the America’s
in the Mexican State of Zacatecas it was founded two years after the
nearby discovery of silver in 1546. And, in Potosí a city in Bolivia,
sometimes referred to as Cerro de Petosi, a rich mountain, because the
mountain which dominated the city was rich in silver. This triggered a
period of inflation in Europe. The conquistador Francisco Pizarro was
said to have his horses shod with silver horseshoes due to the metal’s
abundance, in contrast to the relative lack of iron in Peru. Silver, was
also extremely valuable in China, became a global commodity, and
contributed to the rise of the Spanish Empire. The rise and fall of its
value affected the world market.

Silver mining was a driving force in the settlement of the Western
North America (U.S.) territories, with major booms for silver and
associated minerals ,lead, mostly, in the galena ore (a soft blue-
gray mineral) or lead sulfide which silver is most commonly
found in…

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vehicle, visit http://www.silverinvestingblog.com