pewter

  

 Pewter is a wonderful metal with a long history. The origin of the word Pewter is not fully known, but it is probably an English modification of the word spelter.  It was adopted with only slight variation by most of the continental European nations.  At an early period Europeans became very fond of pewter wares.  The word pewter became peauter in Dutch, peutre, peautre or piautre in French, peltro in Italian and peltre in Spanish.  Roman pewter, the oldest known, which has been uncovered at various sites in England and elsewhere, was composed of tin and lead alone.  Occasional traces of iron are believed to be accidental.

Some people think of Pewter as a cheap substitute for Sterling silver but this it is not.  Pewter is a splendid metal with its own merits and qualities that make it a fine precious metal for both decorative and practical applications. Pewter historically was an alloy of *tin and lead (up to 50% Pb). It became popular in kitchen ware such as plates, mugs, and utensils. By the mid-1700s the health hazards and tarnishing drawbacks of leaded pewter helped popularize Britannia metal a non-leaded form of pewter. Britannia metal consists of* tin, *antimony, and *copper. Pewter is a general name used to denote a number of alloys of various metals in diverse proportions, the sole common feature of which lies in the fact that tin is always the chief constituent. Tin (Sn) is a relatively soft and ductile metal with a silvery white color. It has a density of 7.29 grams per cubic centimeter, a low melting point of 231.88° C (449.38° F), and a high boiling point of 2,625° C (4,757° F).  Most people think of tin cans when they hear the word tin and that makes them think "Cheap".  Tin cans were in fact made from iron that was dipped in tin to prevent rusting.  Today's "Tin foil" is actually made of aluminum!