Sterling | Metallurgy - Encyclopedia Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos sterling Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics Contents Visual Arts Decorative Art CITE verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/art/sterling-metallurgy Feedback Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites sterling metallurgy Ask Anything Homework Help Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

sterling, the standard of purity for silver. The term sterling silver denotes any silver alloy in which pure silver makes up at least 92.5 percent of the content.

One theory is that the word sterling comes from the name Easterlings—coiners from east German states brought to England during the reign of Henry II (1154–89) to improve the quality of the coinage. A more plausible derivation is from the Old English word steorling (“coin with a star”), for small stars occur on some Norman pennies.

Related Topics: silverwork goldwork (Show more) See all related content

In a monetary sense, the term sterling was formerly used to describe the standard weight or quality of English coinage. The basic monetary unit of the United Kingdom is still called the pound sterling. The pound sterling’s origins go back to Anglo-Saxon times, when a pound weight of silver was coined into 240 pennies. These pennies were made from an alloy that was 925 parts silver and 75 parts copper. This proportion remained the standard in English coinage until 1920, when the proportion of silver in the coinage was reduced to 500 parts per 1,000. Britain stopped using any silver in its coins in 1946, replacing it entirely with copper and nickel. By this time the value of silver had long ceased to have any direct link to the British currency, Britain having adopted the gold standard in 1821.