Treasures found when looking for pewter

[Tripplebeards]

Figured I’d start an “out of the box” find when looking for pewter.

I ran into some fish decoys at goodwill the other day for $4 each! I also bought a pewter decanter for the same price a few months ago I sold on eBay for $85!

What cool stuff have you booliteers picked up when pewter scrounging?

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[Land Owner]

I found three heavy pewter goblets (~1 lb ea.) with scenes of "Old England" (or some such) for $2.00 a piece that I cannot find it in me to melt (yet). I have seen other similar goblets since in antique stores with a variety of pricing that is 10 to 25 times what I paid. Fortunately, I have other sources for tin that doesn't warrant melting these - though they are fast becoming dust collectors and in that annoying.

https://i.postimg.cc/x1sdgKz1/IMG-0839.jpg

[Sig556r]

I'm a reg Goodwill gawker & always wonder how to verify pewter or tin if the wares don't have any markings...

[dondiego]

I have found many good books, chairs, and even an Ohaus Triple beam 500 gram balance for $9 at one of the resale shops that I frequent. A 12 inch Wagner's cast iron skillet for $10.

[Tripplebeards]

I'm a reg Goodwill gawker & always wonder how to verify pewter or tin if the wares don't have any markings...

If there is markings or it dose not say pewter don’t buy it as it’s 99.9% probably not pewter.

[kevin c]

Many veteran scroungers can ID pewter on sight. It has a certain look, a feel in terms of thickness, a heft and way it warms up as it's handled, and a dull sound when tapped, that can be learned through experience with marked items. It bends without spring back to hand pressure unless very thick (and most real pewter isn't), and is easily scratched by a brass key. The design characteristics of items made from it, dictated by the metal itself, also become recognizable.

You learn the tell tales that show other materials: the thickness and roughness and porosity of cast aluminum; the thinness and ringing tone of steel; the mirror finish and/or tarnish of silver plated copper alloys. Certain markings and construction techniques you should reject: anything marked pewterex or Wilton, anything made in China (although Chinese "pewter" may be lead that is worth buying at the right price) or India, anything with screws or riveted together. Be suspicious of any label saying "pewter finish" or "pewter color". Some things are incongruous: all the English glass bottomed beer mugs I've seen have real glass in the bottom, not plastic. If the "glass" isn't, then the "pewter" isn't either. With the exception of separate and hinged lids, the pewter I've encountered is of unibody or soldered onstruction; if parts are fitted, fastened or screwed together other than with solder it's not pewter.

Easiest, though, to start out with just marked pewter, moving on to unmarked items only after gaining the experience necessary to make a reasonably sure ID, and only if the need and cost of the item warrant taking the gamble.

ETA: my library is mostly made up of great reads picked up at GW, other thrifts, garage and estate sales at a cost of from free to one or two dollars. Many of the tools I use for lead processing I got the same way. Ditto tools for use at the range. I get a certain satisfaction giving something a useful second life.

[lightman]

Pewter is scarce around here. I have found a few worthwhile pieces of cast iron, a used kitchen spoon or two that were useful for smelting, and a couple of decent work shirts.

[Conditor22]

many thrift stores put their labels over the markings :( almost feel like a criminal peeling the label back to reveal the markings [smilie=l:

[daloper]

many thrift stores put their labels over the markings :( almost feel like a criminal peeling the label back to reveal the markings [smilie=l:

I have no problem pealing back the sticker to find the hallmark.

[Tripplebeards]

Yep, every piece I pewter item I see and or buy buy from the thrift stores has the price tag put over the hallmark and someone has pulled back the label on it but never buys it. lol

Guess they don’t like pewter. Well it all comes home with me! :holysheep:holysheep:holysheep:

I don’t know why I keep buying it as I will never use what I’ve already stock piled.

Maybe someday I’ll sell it by the unmelted pound like I see most do on eBay to support my hobby.

[Winger Ed.]

Yep, every piece I pewter item I see and or buy buy from the thrift stores has the price tag put over the hallmark and someone has pulled back the label on it but never buys it.

They're probably hunting for solid Silver stuff.

[Bazoo]

I got a ns Meyer dress sword at a yardsale for 20 bucks the other day. It's a straight bladed, double edged critter. One just like it is on ebay for 180, but setting. Figure mines worth 80-100 cause of wear. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

Got an xbox power supply for my wet tumbler project for .25 too.

[nueces5]

Hi, I see you know a lot, it's hard for me to risk buying since I don't know anything about pewter
I was searching on a local page, and found this
https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-786874702-antiguo-floron-de-peltre-para-arana-115-diam-x-23-alto-_JM
Do you think it is worth buying? in exchange they are 4 dollars for something less than 200 grams

[JM7.7x58]

I posted the other day about my $7.00 Sheridan air gun that I picked up at a garage sale. Broken nonfunctional Sheridan’s are selling on EBay right now for just around a hundred dollars. And mine works!

That day I was looking for pewter and fishing lead.

JM

[Slugster]

I went Goodwill scrounging on Saturday and found 2 sheffields glass bottom pewter mugs. Don't have a weight yet as my scale is still packed up somewhere. Cost 4 bucks. I estimate the combined weight to be 7 or 8 oz. Not the greatest deal, but not bad for my first time.
Also found a platter that must have weighed 5 pounds, but had no stamps or markings of any kind, so I left it where I found it.

This site is a fountain of information that would take me months to find (even if I knew where to look) if I were just searching the web, and I have been reading and learning, and spending so much time here that the SWMBO is beginning to give me the BIG HAIRY EYEBALL. Since I retired she thinks I should be spending all my time mowing, painting, and other trivial pursuits.

[Tripplebeards]

I bought an onion/ potato box for $10 yesterday at the Salvation Army while looking for pewter. Not a huge score but it would have cost a lot more to build a mail box than buying this one to use it as one.

[Tripplebeards]

Hi, I see you know a lot, it's hard for me to risk buying since I don't know anything about pewter
I was searching on a local page, and found this
https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-786874702-antiguo-floron-de-peltre-para-arana-115-diam-x-23-alto-_JM
Do you think it is worth buying? in exchange they are 4 dollars for something less than 200 grams


That’s not pewter. Look at the sticky here on pewter IDing.

[Traffer]

@tripplebeards.
Those are fantastic decoys. I think they are collectible as "folk art" and may be worth a good chunk of change. Congratulations. They are at least worthy of displaying in a fishing kind of place.

[Traffer]

Got this a while back for $0.74
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[Land Owner]

There is a Sticky - a VERY VERY GOOD Sticky - with regard to all things pewter on Castboolits dot Gunloads dot com. fortunately, this IS CB dot GL dot com. I will retrieve the link and post it here... http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?127929-Pewter-pictures-and-hallmarks

Some "light reading" at 1488 PAGES of posts with regard to PEWTER. Enjoy!

[kevin c]

Nueces5:

I've never seen confirmed pewter crack like that item.

Scattered in that huge thread referenced above (at 20 posts per page, 74 pages is still a lot to look at. Fortunately it's my favorite kind of reading - lots of pictures!) are useful hints on the physical characteristics of unmarked pewter. A lot of the thread shows various touch marks that confirm that the pictured item actually is pewter (because, like, it's says so right on the bottom), useful for the unmarked items because you can get a sense from the pictures of the real thing what form a lot of pewter takes. So if you have an unmarked piece with both the right physical characteristics and a typical shape, it's a good bet (but not a sure thing) that it is pewter. If doesn't have the characteristics and isn't a common pewter form, the chances are much lower that you want it for your casting pot.

[jsizemore]

I found a Lortone tumbler for 25 cents while looking for pewter.

[rondog]

I've found a few goodies in thrift stores, I really need to make it more of a habit. Working nights really slows down doing things like that though.

[Tripplebeards]

I found this Hoppe’s No9 cork type bottle today at the Salvation Army for sixty nine cents while pewter scrounging. I did buy two pewter candle sticks for ninety nine cents each and two set of four in the original boxes of Royal Holland pewter napkin holders for $1.99 each as well.

https://i.imgur.com/ROBVBXz.jpg

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[Traffer]

Yesterday while looking for pewter I came across that looked to be POSSIBLY a bar of silver. It was $1.49 with a half price sticker= 75 cents. So I thought I would take a chance. So far it has passed these tests:
Not magnetic BUT a magnet slides down it very slowly (I saw that test on the internet...it's interesting)
Put an ice cube on it and it melts VERY quickly.
I scraped though what appears to be a rhodium plating over copper plating and got to the core metal...It does not melt at 600° like tin or lead. It has a saying by Thomas Jefferson which says: "I am a great believer in luck and find that the harder I work the more of it I have".
It weighs 5.5 OZ Will take and post pictures later.

[dbosman]

I'm a reg Goodwill gawker & always wonder how to verify pewter or tin if the wares don't have any markings...

No hallmark = not pewter.
IF you find a very old, very detailed, sculptured piece that looks like pewter it might be worth looking up. I don't have a phone but my son goes with me and he does. We can check in a few seconds.

[dbosman]

Hi, I see you know a lot, it's hard for me to risk buying since I don't know anything about pewter
I was searching on a local page, and found this
https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-786874702-antiguo-floron-de-peltre-para-arana-115-diam-x-23-alto-_JM
Do you think it is worth buying? in exchange they are 4 dollars for something less than 200 grams

That doesn't look like pewter, to me. If it is, it's collectable for someone who collects heirlooms. I say pass. Pewter deals will all be well under $10 a pound. If you want $5. a pound pewter, plus shipping, drop me a note.

[Traffer]

Here are some pictures of the bar I got at Goodwill. I carved and abraded the end exposing a copper plating under the top plate of very shiny metal. Under the copper is a more whitish shiny metal. Silver? Going to have to take it to a jeweler to check (or maybe a pawn shop)
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[William Yanda]

Slugster, I'll bet you find that those glass bottomed mugs weigh between 10 and 14 ounces each. Nice find. I have 3 in my stash to melt currently.