[William of Barsoom]

...and sometimes MIL-SPECS for acquiring equipment over-specify, and requiure performance that is over-the-top for normal commercial applications. (Resistance in coils, for example. Silver — the BEST conductor there is — WILL reduce the “ohmic” resistance in a coil, and permit higher current with lower heating loss, and improve a coil’s Quality in resonence applications such as radio frequency coils, aluminum or copper will often serve just as well in practical use.)

So spekking silver in some cases may be overly conservative and strict.

..and sometimes, it’s the ONLY material that will do the job.

[Myrddin]

I worked for Marine Electric in San Diego in the late 70s. The owner made a big purchase of surplus military marine radars to offer to the fishing fleet. In short order, the Japanese brought higher quality, less expensive marine radar to the market. The owner assigned some employees to salvage parts for re-sale. One of the employees brought an interesting metal part to the owner. It was pure gold. Every unit had lots of gold inside. The owner was suddenly very wealthy.