What is Nickel Silver?
Nickel Silver (also known as German Silver) is the generic name for any of a range of non-precious bright silvery-grey metal alloys, composed of copper, nickel and zinc. Despite its name it contains no silver. Nickel Silver gets its name because its colour matches that of silver reasonably, and because it was used as a low status substitute for silver in the 19th century. It is widely used for the commercial production of industrial components, housewares, flatware and cutlery, and as the metal substrate for silver-plated goods. The term EPNS stands for Electro-Plated Nickel Silver.
Nickel Silver is an alloy composition that usually contains nickel, copper and, often but not always, zinc. It contains no silver. Nickel silver was first manufactured in China a couple centuries ago and was called Paktong. In 1832 it was manufactured in Birmingham, England. Berndorf manufactures of Germany called it Alpacca or Alpaca and were using it as early as 1820. Throughout Europe, Nickel Silver was referred to as Alpacca. Nickel silver became widely used after 1840 with the development of electroplating, as it formed an ideal strong and bright substrate for the plating process. From the Late Edwardian to Art Deco Era (1910-1930) many silver manufacturers that made silver plate, used this in many forms of silverware. It sometimes when not polished has a tendency to appear as if a yellow cast is showing through. In the 1920s-1930s, many nickel silver items were mounted on dark brown bakelite stands or pedestals. Trophies were a prime example of this execution. Other names applied
