Mr Humphries, who plays in the Shaftesbury Town Silver Band, was also a town councillor for 13 years.

BBC: Dorset butterfly scientist appointed OBE

In 1889 Aspen, Colorado was a long way from being a glitzy ski destination, but it was a booming silver mining town, and this newfound wealth led to The Hotel Jerome, built to rival the world's finest lodgings.

FORBES: Hotel Jerome, Aspen

Russell Crowe is warm and impressive as the town sheriff and team captain, and Burt Reynolds, coiffed like a silver fox, is amusing as the town judge and team coach.

NEWYORKER: Mystery, Alaska

Last year St Helier won a silver gilt award in the large town category and the sustainable landscape award.

BBC: St Brelade's Bay

If the Town Hall's prominence has faded in the years since, there is at least a silver lining in its story: It's still standing.

WSJ: Brighter Lights for Town Hall

"Mr. Hartnell always went to town when the queen was going to France, " Maureen Marchan, who worked on the silver coat, told the Daily Mail newspaper.

FORBES: She Changes From Day To Day

Although the silver boom eventually went bust, another mineral molybdenum proved to be profitable for this mountain town southwest of Denver.

NPR: The Best Laid Plans Of Mines And Men