I feel cheated...

[Don1357]

At the local thrift store there were 3 seemingly identical small picture frames on a plastic bag. Through the bag I bent the first one and yup, it was pewter. I figure $4 buck for a pound of pewter wasn't that bad to I took them home. Funny thing; only the top one was pewter, the other two were aluminum :'(

What are the odds that a thrift store manages to find 3 random frames that look the same (design, size, color) but in fact came from different places?

[sqlbullet]

Well, since it happened to you, the odds are 100%.

Sorry that happened. I would feel cheated too.

[runfiverun]

I wouldn't feel too bad about 4$ a lb pewter.

[Yodogsandman]

Sorry, we all get burned some days. Stick to food grade pewter pieces that are hallmarked "pewter".

[Nick Quick]

It happen to me too. I found "pewter" like trinkets sold as a pack in a bag. I took the bag and squeeze them one by one. They were all pewter. Also the weigh is telling. The more you find the more experience you get in recognizing pewter.

[sqlbullet]

Early on in this game I was selling some isotope lead in the paper locally. Had a guy wanting to trade linotype ingots for my isotope lead. Offered me 3:1 I think. I figured that wasn't bad for linotype, so I traded for about 10 of those big ingots.

And then found out this cheater had a linotype ingot mold and was casting WW lead and quenching them to harden them, then passing it off as linotype.

[lightman]

Well sqlbullet, you still did not do bad at 3 to 1 provided the weights were not contaminated with zinc. Still sucks that you were scammed. Maybe Karma will catch up with this jocker someday!

Don1357, too bad they were not all pewter but at least you can find it. I never find any around here. Solder is my source for tin.

[sqlbullet]

lightman, I would have felt fine if I got a lino ingot for 3 lbs of lead. But I traded 3 lbs of my iso lead for every 1 lb of his "lino". Kinda like trading $2 bills for $1 bills.

Several different guys each took turns keeping an add at the top of the reloading classifieds alerting other folks to the scam.

[Larry Gibson]

If they were sold as pewter (?) you got cheated....

If they were sold as picture frames you got what you paid for.......

[mozeppa]

look on the + side.

you got 2 picture frames in the deal! yay!

[lightman]

Sqlbullet, I guess I read it wrong. 1 to 3, 3 to 1, big difference. Still hope Karma catches up with him!

[Don1357]

If they were sold as pewter (?) you got cheated....

If they were sold as picture frames you got what you paid for.......

I said I felt cheated, not that I was cheated. Sort of like cheating death, can only be done metaphorically speaking. I don't think I have ever bought pewter at a thrift store that was actually labeled as such.

Such as this guy I just got! Almost two pounds, $11 bucks. No hallmarks, but definitely pewter.

[gwpercle]

My wife works at a business that makes awards, trophies and does engraving on cups, mugs,steins , tankards, trays and other metal objects for gift's ....They purchase the pewter objects to be custom engraved for the buyer . If the metal object is of recent manufacture , after 1950 , and is not marked "pewter" chances are great it is not pewter. The objects they engrave have to be pewter, pewter is soft enough to take engraving well and deep engraving looks better than shallow engraving . Antique pewter has all sorts of marks, hallmarks and pewterers marks that require interpretation .
Modern pewter usually will have the word pewter stamped on it . All the objects they get are marked pewter. If it has no marks and not old and doesn't have any strange little stamped hallmarks ...don't buy it, most likely its another alloy with aluminum in it .
Gary

[RogerDat]

Well win some, lose some. The large tray I use to dry tumble lube bullets on was NOT pewter. It is good to learn the look and feel of the real deal and the close but not quite imitations with small purchases so when a larger score comes along you won't find yourself spending bigger bucks on multiple pounds only to find it isn't pewter.

I have found some older stuff that was pewter and not clearly marked, and some picture frames. Sometimes the markings can be hard to spot or hard to read. I sometimes use my camera from phone to take a picture so I can zoom in and decipher enough of a worn marking to figure out what it says. Also EPBM is pewter with silver plate. Stands for Electro Plated Britannia Metal. Can also say Zinn which is German or Dutch for tin. Bought a heavy plate at an estate sale for a few bucks, when the pewter items where all $$$$ because no one realized zinn was not the company name it was what it was made of.

We all get burned if we take some chances, we also get some deals. With experience the playing field starts to tip ever more in our favor. Still if I was buying a large purchase I would be reluctant to go with my gut if I didn't see hallmarks or some known indications of pewter/tin content. Or the price was such that if it wasn't pewter it wasn't a great loss. Like your $4 gamble on picture frames. Or if the seller lets me hit it with a propane torch I can tell pewter tin alloys by how the melt and how easily. Salvation Army thrift store frowns on it however.

oh on picture frames, if I'm wrong someone can correct me but I have NEVER seen pewter frame from China some good copies for color and texture, too hard and not pewter. I would also keep stuff I feel is pewter but that isn't clearly marked separate. I put mine with mystery solder I find at garage sales. I know it's tin but the percentage or alloy is a bit iffy so I don't want it to dilute my known hallmarked pewter ingot stash.

[Don1357]

The small picture frame was not hallmarked, and it was certainly pewter. This thing on the picture is not hallmarked and is definitely pewter. Too soft to be anything else.

[fredj338]

Pewter or alum, still picture frames?? Funny one would feel cheated buying something sold for one purpose with an idea to use it for something else?? They are sold as picture frames, you bought picture frames? Unless they were sold as pewter frames, no reason to feel cheated.