As I walk along White Street bordering White Park in Concord, I walk with much history. Our beautiful park was donated by Amelia White and established with superior planning and thought.
When the park was first established it was located across the street from the Durgin Silver Factory, a factory with a large brick smokestack and rambling brick walls. An impressive sight to those that passed and certainly a wonderful company that contributed greatly to local commerce while employing many local residents. The old Durgin factory was actually located on the present-day site of the Franklin Pierce Law Center.
It is silver that I speak about today, that precious metal that people have sought for many centuries. The Durgin family offered many silver pieces to complement houses, intricate designs that included household bowls, plates, saucers and certainly those silver spoons. The value of silver has fluctuated over the years and the silver manufacturing conducted by the Durgin factory was superior on every level. It was a time in history when people would purchase silver flatware and use it for special occasions. Silver held some value and the craftmanship provided by the Durgin factory only added more.
It was during the 17th and 18th centuries when ownership of a silver spoon was viewed as a sign the owner was wealthy. Traveling silversmiths during this period would visit the villages and forge silver spoons utilizing old silver coins. Hence the name “coin silver” was established during this period and remains a known term among collectors to this very day.
It was in the beginning of the 1800s when silver flatware became more established and average homes were able to affordably acquire and use these silver utensils. Coin silver flatware was not marked as it is today as sterling silver. The maker, such as Durgin, would simply add their name or symbol to the finished silver piece. There were some manufacturers that stamped the utensil with the quality of silver — pure coin, dollar or simply coin silver.
As the Civil War years visited our country, the trend for better quality silver was arriving. In 1860, the British Sterling silver standard dictated 92.5% silver content to be deemed sterling silver. This change negated the common practice of melting silver coins that would not allow for this guaranteed high silver content. A typical silver spoon during the colonial period in America provided about 90% silver content.
It was during the 1800s when marriages involved silver spoons too. It was here in Concord when a young couple by the name of Cilley were married by a local Concord minister. The parents of the groom actually paid the minister 25 silver dollars for performing the ceremony. The Concord minister gladly accepted this generous gift and handed the 25 silver dollars to the newly married Mr. and Mrs. Cilley with the request being the silver dollars be melted down and molded into silver spoons. Those silver spoons remained in the Cilley family for generations and were often shown to visitors with the story surrounding their origin and the coins were indeed melted and molded into finely crafted spoons over on White Street in Concord at the William B. Durgin Silver Factory.
The old silver factory has faded into history, the generations have slowly passed. It is only the lore of the silver spoons that remain. Traditions change and little pieces of history remain sometimes, like fine silver marriage spoons. I do hope Mr. and Mrs. Cilley enjoyed a wonderful life that endured as long as their silver spoons.