True Standard & Some Silver References

  Cupellation appears to be the most accurate assay method for silver but there are some losses, on the order of 0.1%, in the process which requires an adjustment to determine the fineness on the scale of a true standard. This points out the difficulty in specifying a definitive test for the fineness of silver and the care that needs to be taken.

Here are some books and links concerning silver and its history, alloys, assay and metallugy:

aes - Wiktionary  Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities

Pliny - The Natural History of Metals c. 79 AD

Arbuthnot - Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures 1727, proportion of gold & silver in coins

Phillips - A Manual of Metallurgy 2nd Ed 1859, assay of the alloys & ores of silver

Phillips - The Mining and Metallurgy of Gold and Silver 1867, concentration of precious metals in lead, smelting

Percy - The Metallurgy of Lead 1870, lead-smelting

Hill - A Handbook of Greek & Roman Coins 1899, quality of metals used

Del Mar - A History of the Precious Metals 1902

Scientific American Cyclopedia of Formulas 1915, silver and copper alloys  dwt

Phase diagram - Wikipedia