Australian Pewter Hallmarks

[sthwestvictoria]

For our Australia compatriots - some local (Victorian) op-shop finds:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_20993509fafe7ea62d.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7407)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_20993509fb009c5fab.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7408)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_20993509fb02f18cc5.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7409)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_20993509fb1794490f.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7410)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_20993509fb18e71e23.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7411)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_20993509fb1a76aaac.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7412)
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_20993509fb1dfe5941.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7413)

And here is my total haul do date ( including the piece in the front that has been mostly fed into the furnace).

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_20993509fb728b999b.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=7415)

Most of the finds are tankards or wine goblets. None of the picture frames that our North American cousins speak off. I can't see the attraction of pewter for wine or beer - for wine give me glass and for beer glass or pottery would be preferable to pewter.

[I'll Make Mine]

I can't see the attraction of pewter for wine or beer - for wine give me glass and for beer glass or pottery would be preferable to pewter.

I'd guess the major attraction (for pub use, originally) was that a pewter tankard or goblet that gets dropped has at least some chance of being usable afterward. Since people often get clumsy when they drink, that could be a significant cost saving for a pub.

[sthwestvictoria]

Great point - and no glassings!

although a few people could get a a pewter tankard on the side of the head! One of the pint tankards I have weighs in at 440grams (0.9 pounds US) of metal. 0.9 pounds of metal and 1 pound of fluid is a fair whack to the side of the head!

[machanic]

sthwestvictoria the tankard lower right kind of shiny in the pic does it have a glass bottom? Looks like the one I just melted down, 12 oz in ingot.

[sthwestvictoria]

No that tankard has a pewter base. The hallmark is the Kirra Pewter Lead Free mark, the top one of my set.

Certainly the greatest share of found hallmarks in my area is the Selangor Malaysian pewter and after that the other Malaysian makers.

[imashooter2]

A nice little pile of food service items. It should all be lead free.

No idea what the market is down under... Is that price tag on the front right tankard 2 AUD or 20?

[I'll Make Mine]

although a few people could get a a pewter tankard on the side of the head! One of the pint tankards I have weighs in at 440grams (0.9 pounds US) of metal. 0.9 pounds of metal and 1 pound of fluid is a fair whack to the side of the head!

Well, on the other side of that, by the time the tankard impacts a head, there's almost certain to be less than a pint left in it, and even then, it's probably less harmful than smashing a glass one and driving glass fragments (which don't show on x-ray) into the scalp...