By Ron Pringle, Beau Nash Antiques
Silver has never stayed still for long in Britain. Long before it graced a dining table, it was currency – clipped, melted, and remade according to the needs of the age. The percentage of silver in British coinage was fixed at 92.5% during the Saxon period, with 7.5% copper. That’s the same composition as sterling silver today, and it wasn’t accidental – it was the perfect balance of beauty, strength, and lasting worth.
The relationship between coin and object was always wonderfully fluid. Much English silverware was melted down during the Civil War of 1642–1646 to fund the fighting, then immediately converted back into domestic pieces after the Restoration of 1660. Silver moved between pocket and pantry, always finding its way back to the home.
And that tells us something lovely: people consistently chose to hold their wealth in things they could actually use. A serving spoon. A canteen set laid for Sunday dinner. Candlesticks glowing at either end of the table. A salver for after-dinner drinks, a wine coaster, a decanter catching the light. Condiment sets – salt, pepper, mustard – sitting at the heart of the table like old friends. Photo frames catching milestone moments, jewellery boxes keeping treasures safe, bud vases brightening a windowsill, bowls that appear at every birthday and Sunday lunch – used daily, these pieces quietly collect the memories of a family home.
Then there are the more specialist pieces that reveal how seriously the Victorians took daily ritual: an egg topper that removes a boiled egg’s cap cleanly; a crumb scoop for sweeping the cloth between courses; grape scissors for cutting a cluster with elegance; a match striker for lighting candles without fuss; a candle snuffer to end the evening with quiet ceremony.
The secret to silver staying alive in a family is simply to use it. Children who grow up eating from silver spoons don’t box them away when they inherit them – they set the table. Silver saved for special occasions becomes a chore. Silver used on a Tuesday becomes a memory.
It’s one of the very few things worth owning that rewards you for using it – growing more beautiful, and more meaningful, with every hand it passes through.
Ask us for a Silver Discovery Tour with Ron in the shop. A fun activity for family and friends on their visit to Bath.
Beau Nash Antiques
Antique Shop in Bath
28 and 31 Brock St, BA1 2
beaunashbath.com; info@beaunashbath.com; www.antiquesilver.shop
07535137808 @beaunashbath