(3) zinc, copper and nickel Explanation: Nickel silver, also known as German silver, Argentan, new silver, nickel brass, albata, alpacca, or electrum, is a copper alloy with nickel and often zinc. The usual formulation is 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. Nickel silver is named for its silvery appearance, but it contains no elemental silver unless plated.