Wall plate hangers ,,Tin ?

[Hootmix]

You see these embossed wall plates on e-bay and flea mkts.& shops brass looking but they are TIN,,are they the type of tin we can use in casting ?? Made in England.

coffee's ready,,,,Hootmix.

[RogerDat]

They will be stamped "Pewter" , "Zinn" , or EPBM or PBM for Electro Plated Britannia Metal or Plated Britannia metal. Otherwise I expect they are an aluminum, plated copper or steel and totally useless. That one tray did make a good place to dry tumble lube bullets. However a full on blast from a propane torch didn't phase it. No melt not tin.

There is also a porous sort of thin stamped metal plate that I think will turn out to be a zinc alloy with tin. That is really annoying as it will contaminate the pewter it is melted with. Melts at a higher temp but not so much higher that you can't accidentally hit it. Don't ask how I know that one.

Most silver plate is over copper/brass but some is over tin. Never seen that on a decorative plate however.

Pewter will scratch fairly deeply with a thumbnail. Can always test the back that way. Before adding to a pot hitting it with a small propane torch to see how it melts, plate should melt like tissue paper if it's tin. Really fast and leave a very shiny drip of metal.


Cheap enough and seem enough like tin/pewter it can be worth a gamble. Half pound plate that is a "maybe" for a buck, why not risk a dollar to find out...

[Hootmix]

Thanks RogerDat,, will try benzo torch,,, looked for some kind of mark,,zilch , nada it is very soft will bend real easy,, I'll holler if good.

coffee's ready,,,,Hootmix.

[RogerDat]

Thanks RogerDat,, will try benzo torch,,, looked for some kind of mark,,zilch , nada it is very soft will bend real easy,, I'll holler if good.

coffee's ready,,,,Hootmix.

Soft and easy to bend is what I check for in unknown that gives me that feeling that it "might" be good. Plated on copper or steel will be stiff, as will aluminum most of the time. Don't think I have ever seen pewter plating on those hard metals. Sometimes I have to take a pretty close up picture with phone of marks on back, then zoom in on that to read it. China is making picture frames that look just like pewter but hard as steel.

Good luck!

[Hootmix]

No-No-No,,filed on the edge very thin "BRASS" durn RogerDat,,close!!! Oh well you never know.

coffee's ready,,,,Hootmix.