00:00 Silver, valued for its use in coins and jewelry, has unique properties and is still treasured today, with two naturally occurring isotopes that are almost equal in abundance.

01:51 Silver, like gold, is a non-reactive metal that can tarnish due to the presence of non-silver metals in the alloy, but it can also react with sulfur in the air; it has a long history of use by humans and was one of the seven metals identified and used by the ancients, and while it can be found in its elemental form, it is also found in chemical compounds and alloys, making it rarer than gold for some early civilizations; silver was primarily used for ornamental purposes and coins due to its softness.

03:26 Silver was the primary metal for coins in ancient times, particularly in the Roman Empire, and the mining of silver became very lucrative and in high demand, with the most productive silver mines in the Mediterranean during the Roman period likely being in Spain; however, after the fall of the Western Empire, silver production came to a halt, leading to a decrease in silver circulation in Medieval Europe and the Middle East, while China had less silver and adopted paper money earlier, and silver production shifted to central Europe in the Middle Ages, but never reached the level of production seen under Rome, until the discovery of the New World.

05:05 Spanish silver mining in Peru led to a significant increase in the amount of silver in the world, driving the first period of economic globalization, with a large amount of silver ending up in China due to the demand for silver from Chinese merchants and common folk who no longer trusted government-issued paper money, but the increased production of silver eventually led to inflation and hurt the Spanish economy.

06:44 North American silver mining led to developments in mining technology, such as extracting silver as a byproduct of refining other ores, and while demand for silver in coinage dropped in the 20th century, there was an increased demand for industrial use, and silver is also known for its use in jewelry and ornamentation, as well as being the best electrical conductor of any metal.

08:29 Silver is used in electronics, heat sinks, mirrors, photography, and medical products due to its thermal conductivity, optical reflectivity, and antimicrobial properties.

10:07 Silver can accumulate in the body and cause a condition called Argyria, which turns the skin and eyes bluish gray, but overall, silver is a versatile metal with unique properties.