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Mundungus Fletcher: "This solid silver, mate?"
Sirius Black: "Yes. Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest."
Mundungus Fletcher: "That'd come orf, though."
Mundungus Fletcher examining some goblets at 12 Grimmauld Place with an eye towards theft[src]
Sickle

A silver Sickle

Silver (chemical symbol: Ag) is a dense, soft shiny grey metal with a high value as money, second only to gold, and is used in jewelery in both Muggle and wizarding world. The most common use for silver in the wizarding world was in the Sickle, though it was also used by goblins to create valuable armor.

Silver items[]

The Winged Key that matched the lock in the Underground Chambers was silver, like the handle of the door that it unlocked.[1]

During his tenure as Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore kept a number of curious and fragile instruments in his office which were made of silver. These were repeatedly destroyed and repaired on numerous occasions. The deluminator he invented was also silver.

The Black family earned some silver goblets kept at 12 Grimmauld Place, embossed with their family crest. During the summer holidays of 1995, Mundungus Fletcher examined these and asked Sirius Black if they were solid silver. He disgustedly agreed that they were, 15th-century goblin-wrought silver that was embossed with the Black family crest.[2] In late 1996, Harry Potter discovered Mundungus Fletcher in Hogsmeade with some of these goblets, which he had stolen.[3]

Lord Voldemort created Peter Pettigrew a hand to replace the one he sacrificed in his service. It was made of solid silver, or appeared to be. During the Duel in the Ministry Atrium, Voldemort also conjured a silver shield out of thin air in order to deflect a curse from Albus Dumbledore.[4]

The inner doors of Gringotts were made of silver and carried a poem warning of dire retribution to potential thieves.[5]

Occamy eggs were made of silver. In 1926, Newt Scamander anonymously gave Jacob Kowalski a suitcase full of silver occamy eggs to use as collateral for his bakery.[6]

Uses[]

In the many Muggle myths and legends on the subject, werewolves can be killed by using a silver bullet. This is false, but a mixture of powdered silver and dittany applied to a fresh bite would seal the wound and prevent the victim from bleeding to death.[7]

Goblin-wrought silver absorbed substances that made it stronger, and repelled anything else, among other properties.

Colour[]

The colours of Slytherin were green and silver.

Unicorn blood was silver.

Memories to be stored in a Pensieve resembled a silver liquid or gas, and could be mistaken for silver-coloured hair.[8]

The Patronus Charm was silver in colour.

Albus Dumbledore's hair was silver,[9] and Rufus Scrimgeour's was streaked with silver. Fleur and Gabrielle Delacour had "silver-blonde" hair.

Garrick Ollivander's eyes were silver.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Silver is an incredibly conductive material, with the highest electrical conductivity of any known atomic element.
  • In folklore, it was often believed that silver had mystical properties, the most well known being its use against monsters such as werewolves.[10]

Appearances[]

Notes and references[]

  1. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 16 (Through the Trapdoor)
  2. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 5 (The Order of the Phoenix)
  3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Chapter 12 (Silver and Opals)
  4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Chapter 36 (The Only One He Ever Feared)
  5. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 5 (Diagon Alley)
  6. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay, Scene 121
  7. Writing by J. K. Rowling: "Werewolves" at Wizarding World
  8. The memories swirled, silver white and strange, and without hesitating, with a feeling of reckless abandonment, as though this would assuage his torturing grief, Harry dived. - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  9. Dumbledore’s long silver hair and beard, the piercingly blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles, the crooked nose: Everything was as he had remembered it. - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  10. WP favicon Silver on Wikipedia
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