Often silver pieces were added to water vessels for this same reason. Silver is today still used in eye drops at birth to ward off disease. Silver is used as a healthful decoration on pastries and a coating for pills and edible beads in India and other countries. Silver has a host of uses from lubricants for jet engines to healing bone fractures. As an electrical conductor it has no cost effective equal.
Electrons flow primarily on the outside surface of a conductor.
New uses for silver are invented virtually every day. Silver still produces not only the highest quality images obtainable today, but also at the lowest cost obtainable. Digital imaging was thought to replace silver imaging. Instant photography also was thought to replace conventional photo processing. Digital watches were thought to replace dial type watches.