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What is pewter?

For those interested in antique pewter marks and pewter art, it is important to understand what is pewter made from and its origin. In this way, you will be able to appreciate its significance and purchase the best pewter gifts.

Pewter is defined as being a mixture of metals and malleable alloy containing between 85%- 99% tin, while for the rest it is used lead, bismuth, copper, antimony and even silver. Antimony, copper and bismuth are being used to increase the hardness level, while lead is used for lower degrees of pewter art.
Having this in mind, most low grade pewter art items contain up to 80% lead.

More specifically, an alloy is a mixture of elements which lead to a whole new metal once they are combined. In the same way, depending on the elements combined the pewter can have a higher or lower level of hardness.

However, depending on its future purpose and use, pewter can be made using various proportion of the metals already mentioned above. In the last century, the combinations used varied a lot the same as their color and denomination.

Depending on the level of pewter used there are restrictions imposed to protect us against possible danger. For instance, when 80% of lead is used the antique pewter must not be used in contact with beverages or food. This is why it is important to know what is pewter made from and how it may influence our health.

Furthermore, pewter has a low melting point, approximately 200 °C depending on the mixture of metals used to create the pewter art.
In order to fully understand what is pewter we must also take into account the origin of this word. It seems that the word “pewter” comes from the non-scientific denomination for zinc which is “spelter”. Before purchasing your favorite pewter plates, it is highly recommended to know what is pewter made from.

In addition, the antique pewter articles are great pewter collectables which can be used for home decoration and home design.