Truly spherical silver nanoparticles are of great importance for fundamental studies including plasmonic applications, but their direct synthesis in aqueous media is not feasible. Using the commonly employed copper-based etching processes, an isotropic plasmonic response can be achieved by etching well-defined silver nanocubes. Whilst spherical-like shape is typically prevailing in such processes, we established that there is a preferential growth toward silver rhombicuboctahedra, which is the thermodynamically most stable product of this synthesis. The rhombicuboctahedral morphology is further evidenced by comprehensive characterization with small-angle X-ray scattering in combination with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) tomography and high-resolution TEM. We also elucidate the complete reaction mechanism based on UV-vis kinetic studies, and the postulated mechanism can also be extended to all copper-based etching processes.