For thousands of years, silver was used primarily for coinage, jewellery, tableware and decorative items. In recent years, its use in coinage has declined considerably, and silver finds its way into many industrial uses - in photography, electrical applications and batteries, to name a few. In total, about one-quarter of all industrial silver is used in electronic and electrical equipment. In jewellery and tableware, silver is most often alloyed with copper to make it harder and stronger. Sterling silver, for example, is 92.5 per cent silver and 7.5 per cent copper.
Silver plating is a less expensive way of producing decorative pieces and tableware.
In plating, a thin coating of silver is applied through electrolysis to an item made of a cheaper metal. Over time, though, the silver plate wears off and the base metal eventually shows through. Another common use of silver is the coating on glass mirrors. Silver is also widely used in dentistry and medicine. The silver needed to meet world demand comes only partly from newly produced metal.