Coin silver butter knife

I found this coin silver butter knife, (or what's left of it) this weekend at an old homesite. I know these are old, as they pre-date sterling silver. 1700's thru 1860. They used to melt coins to make silver ware until the comstock lode silver was found in the early 1850's. The only thing visible of what once was, we're a few toppled chimney stones and one large limestone rock that used to be a front stoop. I thought it would've been a very meager homestead until I found fragments of a cast iron hearth. The place came alive with many targets, but the heat kept me at bay. Another day awaits, and since I found coin silver, who knows what's next. Silver coin?