Pewter pictures and hallmarks...

[John Boy]

How many casters look up the hallmarks on pewter to determine the value of the piece before melting it down? Would be a real crime to melt a piece costing a few bucks and determine later that it has a collectible value of a hundred bucks or so!

[jsizemore]

I found some old and expensive pieces. Some I've given as gifts and sold others. The largest portion I find get turned into puddles. Pewter is/was the poor mans silver. Most are just standard production pieces which has a form or catalog number by the touchmark on the bottom. You'll find plenty of them unsold on ebay.

[Don Fischer]

OK. What does caster's use pewter for? Harding lead maybe?

[jsizemore]

Pewter/tin hardens a little but is used especially to help with mold fill out.

[Don Fischer]

Thank you!

[jsizemore]

It doesn't take much. About 1-2% will usually do the trick.

[imashooter2]

I found some old and expensive pieces. Some I've given as gifts and sold others. The largest portion I find get turned into puddles. Pewter is/was the poor mans silver. Most are just standard production pieces which has a form or catalog number by the touchmark on the bottom. You'll find plenty of them unsold on ebay.

Indeed. You can call pretty much every piece I have pictured in this thread a valuable collectible. The trick is in finding someone to buy it at prices higher than scrap tin.

[RugerFan]

Found this interesting candle plate at a thrift store today (6.5" diameter)...
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[imashooter2]

Thanks for the addition!

[Krieger82]

A day of scrounging yielded this small pile. Total weight is 5 pounds 14 ounces. Total cost: 55 bucks. Not the greatest price, but tin is rare as hens teeth in the vegas area, so I'll take it. Funny looking ingots though.

[imashooter2]

Not every score is two bucks a pound. Congratulations on the finds!

[dolfinwriter]

I made a go at melting some of my pewter stash this weekend while melting lead. I used different pots and molds. I found an old Potter mold for smaller ingots ("P" for pewter!)

I am a bit curious about how they came out. Maybe the fire was too hot for pewter? Seems to melt much more readily than wheel weights do. I'm thinking I didn't wait long enough to dump out the pewter ingots. Here are some of the ingots I got out yesterday:

[Budzilla 19]

Krieger82, I have that EXACT same vessel, kinda sorta ( vase?) as you do. The one I bought has no markings (still doing some research)but all the signs of pewter construction. It will be melted separately and then XRF gunned to determine the content. Can't find any info as to place of origin. Soooooo, it's next stop is the pot!have a bunch to use up first, so it's safe for now!
It weighed 6.25 lbs and I beat 'em up for $25 cash..... Ahem, we negotiated a fair price,so I was satisfied as to price! Lol
only thing is, how did it end up in a hole-in-the-wall flea market outside of Tyler, Texas??

[imashooter2]

I made a go at melting some of my pewter stash this weekend while melting lead. I used different pots and molds. I found an old Potter mold for smaller ingots ("P" for pewter!)

I am a bit curious about how they came out. Maybe the fire was too hot for pewter? Seems to melt much more readily than wheel weights do. I'm thinking I didn't wait long enough to dump out the pewter ingots. Here are some of the ingots I got out yesterday:

There are a few that crumbled from being turned out before they cooled but they'll be fine. Nice pile.

[Krieger82]

Krieger82, I have that EXACT same vessel, kinda sorta ( vase?) as you do. The one I bought has no markings (still doing some research)but all the signs of pewter construction. It will be melted separately and then XRF gunned to determine the content. Can't find any info as to place of origin. Soooooo, it's next stop is the pot!have a bunch to use up first, so it's safe for now!
It weighed 6.25 lbs and I beat 'em up for $25 cash..... Ahem, we negotiated a fair price,so I was satisfied as to price! Lol
only thing is, how did it end up in a hole-in-the-wall flea market outside of Tyler, Texas??

The vase seems to share a maker with a bunch of other trinkets (little rabbits and ducks with brass accents) it is a pewter maker out of hong kong. This makes the alloy content somewhat suspect, but it is indeed pewter. Unfortunately the significant other took a liking to it. Hopefully the cat "knocks" it off the table and it becomes irrevocably damaged by the fall.....she will forgive the cat......by the way, when you get the XRF results, I would be interested in knowing them.....

[Sekatoa]

I haven't been to the flea market since early fall...maybe summer, but made it our Saturday. Not much, but right at the scenic to last seller I found these. He asked $5, which I'd have paid, but only had $3 cash left on me after my wife took the $20 bill. So I offered $3 and it was a deal.

[imashooter2]

That'll sweeten a pot or two for you! Thanks for the pics!

[edp2k]

That's good score for 1 1/4 lbs of tin.

Negotiating is the fun part

[dsbock]

Good time yardsailing this weekend. At one yard sale I picked up four C-clamps, a large adjustable wrench, a couple of WWII Field Manuals, and 2.5lbs of pewter in cup form, all for only $12.00.

Very simple marking on these.

David

[imashooter2]

I always liked Jefferson cups. No hammer work to get them in my little electric furnace. Congratulations on the score!