Old silver
A grey shade made to look like aged or tarnished silver
Old silver is a grey colour designed to mimic the look of silver that has lost its shine over time. Its colour matches battleship grey, and it was first named in English in 1905.
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- Old silver is meant to look like tarnished silver.
- It matches the colour called battleship grey.
- The name appeared in English in 1905.
What colour is Old silver?
Old silver is a grey shade that copies the look of silver after it has become dull or darkened with age. It does not have the bright, reflective quality of new silver, instead showing a muted, weathered appearance. Its tone is exactly the same as battleship grey, making it a neutral and understated colour.
Where does Old silver come from?
The name 'old silver' comes from its aim to look like silver that has tarnished over time. This colour was first given its English name in 1905. It was created to capture the specific look of aged silver objects, which develop a greyish surface as they react with air.
Shades and relatives of Old silver
Old silver and battleship grey share the same colour values, so they are visually identical. Both are part of the grey family and can be confused with other muted greys, but old silver is set apart by its link to the look of tarnished metal.
Colours that go with Old silver
Harmonies are worked out from the value #848482. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Old silver
What colour is old silver?
Old silver is a muted grey shade, designed to copy the look of silver that has become tarnished and lost its shine.
Where does the name old silver come from?
The name refers to the appearance of silver objects that have aged and developed a greyish, dull surface.
Is old silver the same as battleship grey?
Yes, the colour values for old silver and battleship grey are identical.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Silver (color)" (the section "Old silver"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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