The silver used to make predecimal British Coins could have been mined anywhere in the then British Empire. A lot of silver was also acquired from raids on Spanish ships.
Copper and coal are the main things mined. Zinc, gold, silver, nickel, and iron are also mined.
Britain has produced silver coins for well over a millennium dating back to about 600 AD. The silver coins produced back then, were very similar to the Roman coins used previously. From 1947 onwards, no general circulation British coin contains any silver or other precious metal at all.
Silver is used in coins!
According to the World Silver Survey, approximately 27,000 metric tons of silver are mined each year. As for gold, around 3,300 metric tons are mined annually. The amount of silver used each year varies, but it typically falls within a similar range as the amount that is mined. For gold, the majority is used for jewelry and investment purposes, with a smaller amount used in industries like electronics and dentistry.
Of course. And "coin silver" only refers to the US standard of 90% pure silver coins. Most other countries (especially in the British empire) used to use sterling silver. Coins have used many different alloys, for example, post WWI Canadian coins are 80% silver, silver UK coins dated 1920-1946 are 50% silver, some ancient "silver" coins are known as billion coins and they contain very little silver, and Mexico issued a 1 peso coin in the late 1950s and 60s that was only 10% silver!
There has been no silver in any British general circulation coin since 1946. Silver is used in some Non-Circulating Legal Tender coins and some Proof coins. Silver is far too expensive to be making coins from. A Penny made from pure silver would be worth a few Pounds.
Electronics; most silver mined in Mexico goes to industrial applications, including but not limited to optics, medicine, chemical processes, dentistry and even clothing. Very little is used in actual silver coins or jewelry.
Pure copper, silver and gold has not been used to make general circulation coins for a long time, but for many years, the value of a coin was determined by the metal it was made from and its weight. British copper coins changed to bronze, which included a large percentage of copper, in 1860. British silver coins were gradually debased from 1919/1920 and changed to a copper nickel alloy from 1947. Copper was a relatively cheap and durable metal to make coins from once, but became much too expensive, even as part of a bronze alloy. In the early 1990's, all British bronze coins were subsequently made from copper plated steel. Silver was used to make coins of a higher value and the value of the coin was reflected in the diameter and weight of the coin, but silver also became too expensive.
Silver
Copper has almost always been used in silver coins, because pure silver wears out faster.
Silver has been used in coinage ever since coinage was made. The earliest coins were made out of an alloy of silver and gold. Silver, along with gold, have been used for coins ever since coinage was made in 700 BC or so.
The Romans used bronze, silver and gold to make their coins.