What is STERLING silver? Is it the same as PURE silver or 999 silver?

Sterling silver is not pure. It is 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper or other base metal. Pure silver is 100% silver (or 99.9% which is close enough to pure). Many new collectors think sterling silver is the highest and greatest form of silver, but it is not. It is only 92.5% pure.

Also, little known is the fact that, by law, an error margin of 10% is allowed in the sterling alloy, so that quite often, when tested, a piece marked STERLING may actually only test our as 91% pure.

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