How to store silver to prevent tarnish.

Silver like many other metals can react with chemicals in the air and on your skin, which is why proper handling and storage are important for maintaining your silver's mirror like finish. The main culprit of this is sulfur which is now widely used in manufacturing and exists in the air. Before the industrial revolution sulfur wasn’t nearly as widely used and silver could go significantly longer without tarnishing.

If stored improperly silver can form what is known as a tarnish. This is a thin layer on the surface of the silver that can change its color to more of a brown or black finish. If you do have silver that has tarnished the silver is still good, tarnish is not corrosive and doesn’t cause the melt value of the silver to be devalued. Unlike iron for example which will eventually corrode and rust the silver will stay in its form, even thousands of years later as you can see how silver coins from ancient Greece and Rome still look like coins, although without the silver luster newer coins have.

The best ways to store your silver is in a dry environment free from moving air. A good example would be in a safe with desiccant packages to pull moisture from the air. Even better to have the silver protected by protective mylar. It is important to note that all plastics are not the same, for example some brands like Ziploc ® can turn the silver a very unappealing green.