Brad,
Nice finds! If you get the "Revitalizing Silver Jewelry Cleaner" made by Connoisseurs and sold in the Jewelry Department at Walmart, it will make the Silver Jewelry cleanup a lot faster and less damaging than using an abrasive such as Baking Soda. It comes in a Silver/Greyish plastic jar and has a wash tub inside for dipping coins or jewelry into the cleaner solution. Just remove the wash tub, place the item in it and then dip the wash tub with jewelry or other item inside down into the cleaner solution 3 times fairly quickly, remove the jewelry or other item, rinse with water and check to see if it is clean and bright. If there is Iron or other staining on the jewelry or other item, you can soak in 91% Rubbing Alcohol for a few minutes and rub lightly with a fingertip and the staining will likely be gone. If the jewelry or other item is still not clean and bright, you might repeat washing it in the Silver Jewelry Cleaning Solution but try to limit it to dipping it into it to twice the next time as excess prolonged use of the solution like any chemical cleaner, can eventually damage the jewelry or other item. Once done and rinsed with water, rinse the jewelry or other item with Rubbing Alcohol, then rinse with water again and then pat dry with a soft towel.
Frank
P.S. I would bet that you broke the Silver chains when you licked them too much or too hard!
