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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;expat, post: 18633188, member: 111067&quot;]This is my limited understanding only.</p><p>Ancient Romans put a &quot;silver wash&quot; on certain coins, particularly the extremely-debased-silver coinage of the late 200s and early 300s AD. These are the coins usually referred to as &quot;silvered&#039;. If the coin did not see much circulation before being buried, this silver layer can be preserved intact.</p><p><br /></p><p>Exactly how the Romans performed this silvering trick is not entirely understood, and they may have used different techniques at different mints and different times. Some seem to have been made from blanks literally &quot;washed&quot; in molten silver prior to being struck. Other blanks have had a &quot;pickling, a soak in acid to dissolve the copper off the surface and leave the silver behind. What is known is that silver coins still &quot;looking silver&quot; gave a &quot;feel good&quot; confidence, nobody was really fooled - the real-world purchasing power of the coins was not significantly greater due to such treatment.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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