A method to enhance surface plasmon coupled fluorescence (SPCF) from thin copper films using silver islands as an overlayer is presented. Silver islands were deposited onto copper thin films using a wet chemical technique for up to 60 s, which resulted in surface features ranging from randomly sized silver nanoparticles to a silver thin film. Theoretical Fresnel calculations predict the coupling of light to copper thin films with a silver overlayer. SPCF and the free-space emission intensities from Rhodamine B spin-coated onto silvered copper were found to be significantly larger than measured from the copper thin films alone. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.