Today, silver has thousands of modern industrial uses and is considered a store of wealth. However, the story of this legendary precious metal begins with its use by ancient civilizations. Silver has many attributes that made it so valuable to early peoples. It is malleable, ductile, lustrous, resilient, antibacterial, and rare. It was used to purify water and for ornate artwork – but more importantly it was perfectly suited to be a currency. For over two thousand years, silver was used everywhere from Ancient Greece to the Spanish Empire as currency. By 1967, all silver coins were removed from circulation in the US. And although no longer used, silver is the most widely used material for coinage in history.