When was silver discovered

The metal was often mixed with lead, which is poisonous. Because of this, mining for these metals was forced labor, that is, slave labor. Silver has played an important role in shaping economies. In about BC, the Athenian people discovered a silver mine in Laurion nearby.

With this treasure they enriched their city and built a powerful navy. A rival city, Sparta, had its own silver mine. Carthage overran the area in BC and used the silver to pay tribute to Rome. Some zoologists work at universities as professors. All of the gold found on Earth came from the debris of dead stars. But, around 4 billion years ago, Earth was bombarded by asteroid impacts. Eventually, scientists calculated that the Sun contains almost 2. Stars are made mostly of helium and hydrogen, which provide light.

Planets form from a swell of gas and dust cast out through space via a supernova. The same year, silver production mining and scrap finally closed the gap with demand. Responding to persistent investor demand for a government-produced silver investment vehicle, Congress authorized the American Eagle bullion coin program. In addition to various sizes of Gold Eagles, a one troy ounce Silver Eagle began production.

The first silver ETF was introduced by iShares in Trading under the symbol SLV, the iShares Silver Trust was the first financial vehicle to allow easy, highly liquid investments backed by physical silver. Investors use the ETF shares to get exposure to price movement in the silver market. Shares of SLV are not a claim to any silver held by the Trust. Instead, the price of SLV shares track the movement of silver prices.

The Global Financial Crisis hit all sectors of the economy. An explosion of safe haven demand saw both silver and gold hit multi-decade highs. Silver ETFs saw record inflows of The physical silver market experienced shortages.

These shortages forced the government to ration American Silver Eagle bullion coins. Demand for silver bars and medallions had silver fabricators working around the clock. Because of this, they were unable to meet the unexpected demand by the U. Mint for silver coin blanks. The debt crises in the US and European Union in sent shudders through a global economy still traumatized by the Global Financial Crisis.

Silver prices jumped after America's sovereign debt was downgraded for the first time. This was the highest daily closing price for silver since the peak of the Hunt brothers' attempt to corner the silver market in Physical silver investment demand hit new highs.

Silver Eagle supply failed to keep up with demand again in , due to a shortage of coin blanks. Moderating silver prices and the US Mint's ability to reduce production shortages sent American Silver Eagles to successive highs from to The all-time Silver Eagle sales record was set in , with 47 million coins sold.

Private mint silver products also saw record demand. Total physical silver investment demand hit a record This demand sent silver supplies into a deficit for the third year in a row.

A published writer, Steven's coverage of precious metals goes beyond the daily news to explain how ancillary factors affect the market. Steven specializes in market analysis with an emphasis on stocks, corporate bonds, and government debt.

Don't be the last to know about the latest deals and new product arrivals. Join us today for FREE! Sign in or register. Buy Gold. Australian Gold Coins. There is no known specific time for when silver was discovered, as such an event pre-dates records. It was probably discovered by the Bronze Age at the latest, and evidence of silver work stretches back to 4, BC as mentioned in the last section.

Slag heaps that have been excavated in Asia Minor, and islands in the Aegean Sea, suggest that Anatolia, a region encompassing modern Turkey and the Mediterranean, were working silver at that time. Silver was first discovered between the 1 July and 5 July According to some studies, it can be said that silver was discovered mostly in ancient Egypt, way before being used in Asia minor, around 6, B.