The bible makes reference to Silver used as money:

"Thirty pieces of silver." The sum of money that Judas Iscariot received from the chief priest for the betrayal of Christ (Matthew 26:5). Hence the expression is used proverbially as a bribe or blood money!

The famous Greek physician, Hippocrates (who is considered by many as the father of modern medicine), wrote that silver could prevent disease and had special healing properties. Consequently, the Ancient Greeks and Romans used silver utensils as well as silver urns to keep water and other liquids fresh. Ancient Egyptian writings indicate that they used silver too; as did the ancient Chinese who’s Emperors ate with silver chopsticks. "Throughout the centuries and into today, silver in various forms has been used to benefit mankind. Some cultures added powdered silver to a newborns first bath as protection against a harsh world of viruses and bacteria.  Milk farmers used to use a silver pail to collect milk and found that raw milk could remain un-refrigerated for hours without spoiling.

Similarly, our early settlers would often throw silver dollars into their wells or water barrels in order to kill bacteria and keep the water potable.  During plagues in Europe, wealthy families gave their children silver spoons to suck on; hence the saying "born with a silver spoon in his mouth."

You can read more about the history of silver in the following:

Becker: Becker source 
Goetsch Vincent, "An Insider's Analysis - Historical Expose and Technical Review," © 2006:   Historical Expose

Institute silver:   silver history institute
Med uses: Medical uses
Quinto: Renaissance of silver history  
Timeline silver: Timeline silver
Rentz:  Rentz source  
Rentz HISTORY1: Good history 1
Rentz,Eric J., DO, MSc, "An In-Depth History of Silver," Medical Uses of Colloidal Silver Through the Ages.
Richards: History silver
Silver facts
Silver history: silver history long
Silverum photos: silverum photos
Wikipedia:   Wikipedia history
[ 7. Clinical use of silver products ]
[ 24. Historical perspectives on clinical uses & perspectives ]