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Silver pens

 Just be cautious to know the difference between the different silver types if you buy a silver pen - I use some lines from Wikipedia - do not claim I could say it better.

 

Real silver

  • Fine silver is 99.9% pure silver.
  • Argentium silver (patented in 1998) is a brand of modern tarnish-resistant silver alloys, containing either 93.5%, 94% or 96% silver. Argentium alloys replace some of the copper in the traditional sterling silver (92.5% silver + 7.5% copper) with the metalloid germanium. Argentium 935, Argentium 940 and Argentium 960 alloys exceed the standard required for hallmarking as sterling silver, and Argentium 960 silver meets the standard for hallmarking as Britannia silver (95.84% silver).
  • Silvadium, Sterlium is 93% silver, and other metals
  • Sterling silver is an alloy composed by weight of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper. The sterling silver standard has a minimum millesimal fineness of 925.

 

and then there is

  • Nickel silver, other names include maillechort, German silver, argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, or alpacca is a copper alloy with nickel, and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver does not contain the element silver. It is named for its silvery appearance, which can make it attractive as a cheaper and more durable substitute. It is also well suited for being plated with silver.

 

Investigate when a pen is described as a silver pen, it could be everything from real silver to silver-plated to fake silver. And, don't forget that a very thin tube of real silver over brass or resin qualifies the pen to be described as solid silver (or solid gold). There are just a few companies who use only silver tubes for cap and barrel. 

 

And, as it has to do with silver:

Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold.

The US Code of Federal Regulations 16, Part 23.5 defines vermeil thus: "An industry product may be described or marked as 'vermeil' if it consists of a base of sterling silver coated or plated on all significant surfaces with gold or gold alloy of not less than 10-karat fineness, that is of substantial thickness and a minimum thickness throughout equivalent to two and one half (2+1⁄2) microns (or approximately 1⁄10000 of an inch) of fine gold."



These are vermeil pens.


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