Precious Metals Test
1. What's the melting temperature of sterling? (Jeffrey Herman) 1,450°F, 1,640°F, 1,760°F, 1,820°F Press for answer >>1,640°F
2. What's the ideal annealing temperature of sterling? (Jeffrey Herman) 900°F, 1,000°F, 1,100°F, 1,250°F Press for answer >>1,100°F
3. How much does a cubic foot of fine silver weigh? (Jeffrey Herman) 656 lbs., 784 lbs., 859 lbs., 986 lbs. Press for answer >>656 lbs.
4. What's heavier? Steel, fine silver, lead, 24k gold, platinum (Jeffrey Herman) Press for answer >>Platinum
5. What percentage of copper is in coin silver? (Jeffrey Herman) 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% Press for answer >>10%
6. How far can one troy ounce of 24k gold wire be stretched? (Jeffrey Herman) 1/4 mile, 2 miles, 7 miles, 23 miles, 50 miles Press for answer >>50 miles
7. How many square feet can one troy ounce of 24k gold be hammered? (Jeffrey Herman) 15 sq. ft., 28 sq. ft., 100 sq. ft., 122 sq. ft. Press for answer >>100 square feet
8. How many troy ozs. equals one troy pound? (Jeffrey Herman) 12 troy ozs., 14 troy ozs., 16 troy ozs., 20 troy ozs. Press for answer >>12 troy ozs.
9. How many grams equals one troy ounce? (Jeffrey Herman) 12 grams, 20 grams, 27 grams, 31 grams Press for answer >>31 grams
10. When did sterling become the standard in the United States? (Jeffrey Herman) 1763, 1856, 1868, 1898 Press for answer >>1868
11. What was the highest closing spot price per troy ounce of fine silver? (Andy Eid-Reiner) $50.35, $54.26, $58.23, $62.87 Press for answer >>$50.35 on 1/18/80
12. What's the highest price paid for a piece of silver (a Hanover Chandelier)? (Andy Eid-Reiner) $1,998,480, $3,386,440, $4,134,875, $5,255,460 Press for answer >>$3,386,440 on 1/18/93
13. What percentage of silver is found in nickel-silver? (Jeffrey Herman) 2%, 5%, 8%, 9% Press for answer >>None! Only copper, zinc & nickel
14. What is the chemical symbol for silver? (Cynthia Eid) Ag, Au, Si, Sl Press for answer >>Ag, gold is Au
15. What country was the leading producer of silver mined in 1995? (Jeffrey Herman) Russia, Mexico, Peru, United States Press for answer >>Mexico: 74.73 million ozs.
16. What was the world total silver mined in 1995? (Jeffrey Herman) 197.23 million ozs., 468.84 million ozs., 766.08 million ozs., 822.23 million ozs. Press for answer >>468.84 million ozs.
17. Sterling is made of silver and copper. What property does the addition of copper give? (Cynthia Eid) malleability, hardening, lower tensil strength, higher brazing temperature Press for answer >>Hardness
18. Which has a higher melting temperature? (Cynthia Eid) platinum, 24k gold, sterling, fine silver? Press for answer >>Platinum at 3,224°F
19. What year did the English hallmark come into use? (Cynthia Eid) 1200, 1250, 1300, 1350 Press for answer >>c. 1300
20. What year was Sheffield plate invented? (Cynthia Eid) 1623, 1742, 1771, 1894 Press for answer >>1742 by Thomas Bolsover
21. The four primary English hallmarks: standard mark, maker's mark, date letter, and? (Jeffrey Herman) town mark, assay inspector, assay office, Goldsmiths' Company Press for answer >>Assay office
22. Britannia Silver contains what percentage of fine silver? (Jeffrey Herman) .910%, .9357%, .940%, .9584% Press for answer >>.9584%
23. What company was known for its Martelé silver line? (Jeffrey Herman) Tiffany, Gorham, Whiting, Sheibler Press for answer >>Gorham
24. Gorham's largest commission consisting of 606 pieces of flatware and 132 pieces of holloware was created for? (Jeffrey Herman) Andrew Carnegie, John Mackay, Henry Furber, Lillian Russell Press for answer >>Henry Furber
25. Paul de Lamerie, England's most highly accalimed silversmith of the 18th century, was born in what country? (Jeffrey Herman) France, Holland, Switzerland, England Press for answer >>Holland
26. Arthur J. Stone, America's most famous Arts & Crafts silversmith, was born in what country? (Jeffrey Herman) England, United States, Scotland, Ireland Press for answer >>England
27. Where is America's the last true seven-year silversmithing apprenticeship program? (Jeffrey Herman) Old Sturbridge Village, Historic Deerfield, Colonial Williamsburg, there are no apprenticeships Press for answer >>Colonial Williamsburg
28. What did Gorham pay its highest paid workers—the silversmiths and chasers, per year between 1870 and 1910? (Jeffrey Herman) $980-$1,100, $1,200-$1,500, $2,600-$3,400, $5,000-$5,800 Press for answer >>$1,200-$1,500
29. What country is the world's most voracious consumer of silver? (hint: they even use fine silver foil on little diamond shaped squares of pastry for religious holidays) (Mitch Wilkins) Mexico, Russia, India, USA Press for answer >>India
30. The US treasury has 147,000,000 ozs. of gold in Ft. Knox, what is the book value per oz? (Chip DeMatteo) $42.22, $98.63, $134.81, $213.12 Press for answer >>$42.22
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Updated 3/11/1999 © Copyright 1997-2001 Society of American Silversmiths
