Is English pewter silver?
Pewter is a metal alloy mostly made from tin, with the remainder usually a mixture of copper, antimony, bismuth, and (sometimes) silver.
What is English pewter made of?
While the term pewter covers a range of tin-based alloys, the term English pewter has come to represent a strictly-controlled alloy, specified by BSEN611-1 and British Standard 5140, consisting mainly of tin (ideally 92%), with the balance made up of antimony and copper. Significantly, it is free of lead and nickel.
Is English pewter safe to drink from?
Pewter measures from the 17th and 18th centuries were made from an alloy of tin with a small percentage of lead which was used as a low cost bulking agent and help durability. With current understanding of the effect of heavy metals such as lead on the body, it is not advisable to use them for drinking purposes.
How do you date pewter?
Numbers placed on pewter during manufacture may be three-four-or-five-digit catalog numbers. In the case of a four-digit number, it is probably a catalog number rather than a date or when date numbers are used the date may not indicate the year the piece was made but rather the year the pewterer began business.
Does English pewter contain lead?
What are the different types of British pewter markings?
It is often difficult, but not impossible, to decipher which of the five main categories a British pewter mark fits into, because many marks have similar qualities. Touch marks, hallmarks, quality marks, labels and catalogue numbers were the primary markings found on British pewter until the 20th century.
What does the London Mark mean on pewter?
A few marked their pewter with a “London” mark to either deceive their customers or at least imply that their pewter was up to London standards, considered the highest.
Where can I find American Pewter marks?
Discoveries since 1971 have been published in the PCCA Bulletin, published twice a year. Other sources for drawings of most of the American pewter marks are listed in the bibliography. Touch Marks A touch mark is a pewterer’s “trade mark” and in American pewter almost always includes the name or initials of the pewterer.
What are ‘touch marks’ on a pewter?
‘touch marks’, often including the pewterer’s name or initials Wares often have marks from more than one of these categories, and that can be very helpful.