Prehistoric references to silver are many, but the oldest written one is believed to be in the Book of Genesis. Silver, like gold, was considered by ancient peoples to valuable and sacred. Its use was therefore limited, just as it is today.
Debt payment, ornamentation, religious decoration and useful items for affluent households comprised the majority of silver applications in ancient times. In Egypt, silver was the second most perfect metal, next to gold. Gold was assigned a circular symbol, while silver was represented as a semi-circle. Later the half-circle became a half-moon, and the luster of pure silver was compared to moon’s glow.
In the Bronze Age, silver was first mined to create jewelry, but historic evidence suggests that the oxidation process, by which silver could be separated from lead, was developed much earlier. Silver ore typically contains lead, which poisoned, then killed early miners, usually within a three year period.
