The synthesis of 3-((1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl)-1-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium iodide 1 for the synthesis of multidentate tetra-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) structures is described. Two acyclic open chain tetra(NHC) precursors are synthesized together with their corresponding silver complexes. On the basis of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD) data, the coordination geometry of the silver complexes is discussed. Dependent on the length of the alkyl bridge of the tetradentate ligand either a double helix structure with four linear-coordinated silver cations or a twisted geometry with two linear-coordinated silver cations is obtained.