Silver or Sterling Silver?

While at my fair last weekend, my husband asked me what the difference between silver and sterling silver is. I told him I would look it up and let him know. I also thought I would share that information here.

Pure silver is 99.9% silver and sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver, usually with copper mixed in. The copper gives silver more strength, which is useful in creating larger objects. Pure silver works well for jewelry.

Sterling silver is often coated with 99.9% pure silver to give to give it a nice shine.