On Monday, May 3, 2021 at 12:32:35 PM UTC-7, Abandoned_Trolley wrote:

some military grade wires are "made more expensive" by being silver
plated - although they might look like they are tinned.

Also, the insulation is often of teflon instead of PVC

The process for curing a teflon (or TefZel, etc.) jacket on those wires
does require the silver, for chemical compatibility. Some old wire used
cotton under rubber, for similar reasons (so the insulation COULD be removed,
not permanently bonded to the wire).