Pewter pictures and hallmarks...

[imashooter2]

Beat up tea sets are probably the best average weight per dollar in the pewter scrounging game. Congrats on the find!

[Budzilla 19]

After turning down one tea set for $65, I went upstairs and found another one for $20!! Creamer, sugar cup, I guess, and tea pot, that looks like a pitcher really, plus the tray to go with it! Total for 5.87 lbs was $22!!!! I couldn't pass that deal up! Josten's is the hallmark on back.

[crazyponie]

Found a number of things at 2 Goodwill's and 2 different thrift stores. $24 for almost 9lbs worth. Probably the best single day I have had.

[jsizemore]

I've never seen the piece on the left. Must hold a glass or porcelain bowl for soup or tossed salad. The small picture frame could be ley (?) pewter. The rest looks like the good stuff. Great haul. My Goodwill's want about 3-4 times what you paid.

[imashooter2]

Yes indeed, great haul. Goodwill stores around here have decided they are "boutiques." It's been a long time since I found anything to buy other than clothes.

[crazyponie]

You both are correct about the prices at Goodwill. The bowl that used to hold some kind of dish in it's center was marked $15 but when I pointed out it was missing the glass they took $5 for it, it's almost 2.5lbs w/o the bowl. It's marked Boardman pewter and that's it. That bowl, the two picture frames and one vase came from the Goodwills everything else including the 2.5lb(don't know how much the handle will take off) Stieff pitcher came from the thrift stores. The little frame is by seagull - FINE PEWTER and was free because it was missing the stand. The other frame is a new maker to me. It's marked 1987 Bergamot/Wisconsin in one corner and Fine pewter in another corner. Once the backing and glass was removed it was 12oz for $1.50. The bowl in the center/back is the first piece of Henry Ford museum pewter I have found, it was $2. The wife says I have got to stop, I now have almost 40lbs and don't even own a bullet mold YET. I finally bought some ingot molds for melting the buckets of COWW, SOWW and range lead I have littered across the garage floor.

[jsizemore]

Picture frames are the good stuff too. Good haul.

[Sekatoa]

Alrighty, gotta post this steal. There's a bit of another thrift shop story. So, there's very small charity shop, where most everything is only a few bucks or less. Right across from my work. Occasionally I'll stroll over on my lunch and see if any pewter or anything else of interest showed up. Usually nothing. But then about two weeks ago, this bowl showed up.



Clear Woodbury Pewter hallmark. But, it had $10.00 sticker, though it was written weird...almost like the 1 was written over the $. Anyway, I didn't have that much cash and decided I'd come back later. Also, it seemed light , less than 1 pound, maybe a half.
I came back the next week, eyed it over, checked the tag, decided it was too much for what it was, put it back. I did this a few more times over the course of the two weeks. It kept calling to me...and I wanted it!
I decided that well, it's a shop that is more of a charity than most, giving less fortunate people with obviously mental and physical difficulties a place to work than just a shop,that donates to charity. So, if I over paid, it went to good cause. But, I also happened to have a 12 oz water bottle, 3/4 full in hand, so I attempted to compare the weight. Seemed close, and I considered my 8 oz estimate about right, and $10 was close to spot price for that anyway.

I brought to the register, and the clerk told the lady in front of me her item wasn't the price on the tag, they had a lot of stuff donated from another other shop that hadn't been marked down with their price yet. So, when she got to me, she looked at the tag and said, it was $1.50. (The checkers were not the mentally impaired/disabled, I wouldn't have taken advantage of them). This was more consistent with their normal prices as well. So, I thought, cool...score!
Now then when I got home, I weight it.....


1 lb 5 oz lbs! 3x my estimated score!


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[imashooter2]

Nice. I've found Woodbury pieces to be a little heavier than most others for the same general shape. Good score!

[BigDanS]

I found this plate at a garage sale around the corner from my house for $4.00. About 9 inches across and 29 ounces. The only mark on it is the little angel on the hanger, so I believe it is pewter. I do not know what the composition might be or age. The inscription on the front is from 1975. It is soft and the back shaves slivers easily with my knife. Any help would be appreciated

[imashooter2]

I've bought many of those decorative plates with the angel mark. Only 1 has turned out to not actually be pewter. See post 396.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...=1#post2863730

[jsizemore]

That plate with a dull shine and an angel touchmark can be bent over the knee when turned upside down. That's the good ones. I've had plates that were dull gray and all the other characteristics but wouldn't bend over the knee. They wouldn't melt at normal pewter temps. I figured them to be a potmetal fake. The hanger tab would be riveted in place on some of the pieces. I'm glad you got a good one

[BigDanS]

Thanks! It does bend over my knee so I am pretty sure it's pewter. Looks like I am going to make up a 20 lb batch of Lyman #2

Dan

[The Governor]

Found an old lid that bends easily. No mark.
Looks good to go or what?

[imashooter2]

Tough to be sure from just that picture, but it looks promising. See if an edge melts easily.

[Sekatoa]

Found an old lid that bends easily. No mark.
Looks good to go or what?

When in doubt, I like to melt, or melt a piece of the item, separately in my small Hot Pot and monitor with my lead thermometer. Not precise, but close enough to help determine if it's in the pewter range.


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[6mm win lee]

Stopped by the local Goodwill this afternoon and found a pitcher and a bowl. I saw some one had tried to peel the for sale stickers back where the touchmarks were on the bottom of the items. I could not read the marks very well due to crappy old guy eyeballs so I went home and got my mad scientist glasses. The bowl had a faint stamp that read International Pewter 276 35 3 and there was some mark on the pitcher that I did not know but I could read EPNS.

So I got the bowl for three bucks since the pitcher did not have the word pewter on it. Took the bowl down the street to the local hardware shop to use their scale and it came in at 1.07 pound.

2016 looks like it is going to be a good year after all.

[jsizemore]

EPNS- electro plated nickel silver

No actual silver but nickel, zinc and copper.

The bowl is the real deal. I see more International Pewter then all others combined.

[Sekatoa]

Got a couple more nice little bowls from the father in law. I haven't weight them yet, I'll probably keep them around until I do larger melt, or need the pewter. My supply is built up pretty well for needs.



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[Sean357]

I should have been looking for this stuff for the last couple years, I would have quite a bit by now. For some reason never checked into what pewter was used for in casting... But the other day I went to the thrift store for some casting supplies and ran across this. $2.00, I think I'm going to be keeping a much better eye out for this stuff now.





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