What is Nickel Silver Used For

What is nickel silver used for today? Nickel silver contains no actual silver, but is a compilation of nickel, zinc and copper alloy.

Also called German silver, nickel brass and Argentan, it contains approximately 10-25% nickel, 17-40% zinc and copper alloy.




In some instances, this alloy can have silver plating. What is nickel silver used for?

Many things, including industrial equipment, flatware, musical instruments and as an electrical conductor.

Continue reading to learn about some of the specific items that contain this compilation of metal.

Car manufacturers used nickel silver in vehicles before the development of sheet metal.

Many items that used to be made of iron are now made with nickel silver since it’s less corrosive and can last for a long time.

Coins, however, are not usually made of nickel silver. Since this alloy contains no actual silver it has very little value, though it can be plated with real silver.

However, it can be found in fraudulent pieces.

Brief History of Nickel Silver

The Chinese created nickel silver during the Qing Dynasty, which reigned from around 1636 to 1912, and used it to imitate sterling silver.

In 1823, two German brothers perfected the alloy’s appearance, emphasizing its shine and silver color.

Advantages of using Nickel Silver

Not only is nickel silver a very durable metal alloy, but it doesn’t corrode easily and it’s heat resistant.

Its silver shine makes it nice for jewelry and musical instruments, so they look pretty and the owners don’t need to worry about the color fading.

It’s also unlikely to get unbearably hot and is much less expensive than silver and other metals.

Instead of scrapping individual pieces of this type of metal, it would be wise to stock pile it until you have a large amount.

In small amounts, it is not as valuable as copper but larger loads of it will pay very well.

All metal is worth money so do not get hung up on just trying to collect the most valuable of metals.

Many products that are made with nickel silver also contain other highly valuable scrap metals.

I am asked all of the time what the particular value in scrap is of things such as televisions. There really is no absolute answer because the value depends on what’s inside.

There are many different kinds of regular and precious metals used in the manufacturing of tv’s. The one thing that I do suggest is to always disassemble the things that you find.

Scrap yards are all about metal. They do not really want the enormous amount of plastic that a fridge contains although many will accept the item as a whole.