I've been buying pewter from my local flea market for years. Vendors know me and know my price. I bring my scale and everyone is happy.
Last weekend there was no pewter to be found. I talked to 2 vendors that said a group of "college" kids came through and bought EVERYTHING that said pewter at the asking price which is generally around $7/lb. These guys didn't know what they were buying because they bought Wilton and anything that had PEWTER stamped or stickered on it. They were very hush-hush about the whole thing. The vendor that told me about the Wilton said that it said PEWTER so it was. I told her to sell them a bunch more.
I stopped by one vendor that had closed his antique mall booth. He had enough pewter plates to weigh 25lbs. I had just finished weighing them when a young college aged couple came up and asked if they were for sale. My former friend said they were and wanted $7/lb. but agreed on $6. I was prepared to pay $4 but money talks and friendship walks. The buyer asked me about using borax to flux. I gave them the 15 minute lecture on the ID, and process on the production of ingots. I hoped communicating would get them to wag their tongues about what they are doing with the pewter. Not A Peep.
Your guess is as good as mine. I looked on ebay for pewter ingots offered from my area but found nothing. I'm thinking it could be a cheap source of solder or ???????
I'm letting folks on the board know about this and show a bit of caution when you buy from an unknown seller. Good Luck