Steel is an inexpensive metal. As you know, it isn’t classified as a precious metal.

So why are there antique items out there that contain both steel and silver? The answer to that question is this . . .

Alchemists were medieval scientists who, legend says, were able to turn base metals into gold. Of course they couldn’t do that. Still, some of their discoveries are still being used today. One is aqua regia, a combination of nitric and hydrochloric acid that is still used today to dissolve gold and platinum.