Please don't melt the revolutionary soldiers. Those are works of art that should be collected. You can find junk pewter or buy tin that won't destroy art.
Please don't melt the revolutionary soldiers. Those are works of art that should be collected. You can find junk pewter or buy tin that won't destroy art.
Those things have spent their lives in the boxes they came in. I have googled around but found little collector interest
Mike
I see the valuable collectable comment often in pewter threads. But I've looked at a lot of pewter offered for sale and very, very little goes for more than the price of scrap tin.
Those figurines are lead free pewter and will be better than 80% tin. Probably better than 90% tin.
The price of any commodity depends on how badly you need it and your prospects of finding it elsewhere. Modern pewter is pretty commonly available. That mug in my last picture was a buck. I walk away from a lot of items that folks think are "collectable."
You should be able to find plenty of scrap at $4 a pound or less.
Before you melt that down, why don't you try and swap it for some scrap. Someone may enjoy owning them and pay to keep them from being melted. Also check your local thrift store and charitable organizations. I have picked up items that weigh between 8 to 12 ozs for 25 cents to a dollar. Flee markets are another good place.
A 5 inch covered pitcher, 12 ounces.
Last edited by imashooter2; 10-11-2015 at 10:59 PM.
That's some pretty nice stuff in some of these pictures. I'd like some bowls and platters like that displayed in my dining room. I've got a couple, but some of these antique dealers seem to be pricing pieces like some of those shown right up there with gold, it seems. Then again, some of the cheaper stuff can be spotted right away at yard sales, and if bought right, can be good for the ol' smelting pot, right along with some wheelweights. Imashooter and Meak99, that's some nice stuff you've shown pictures of. If I had some of that, and melted it down for boolits, I know a couple of lady friends that I'd never dare let near my 45-70 again!
Check your local Salvation Army stores and Goodwill stores. Also check out the late season flea markets where the sellers are looking to get rid of as much as possible.
I picked up a large quanity at a flea market over the summer. The guy was just tired of hauling it around.
ah ye olde " to melt or not to melt " .... , nice score !! i need to be able to take a couple fotos , to be fair the hallmarks are already here , i havent found alot lately but i did find a couple of serving/carving trays ( definite melt materiel !!! ) just a lil under 4#'s for just a lil under $4 ( $.99 & $2.98 )
ummm
"A lot of them are turned so that the big dent or scratch is on the other side."
some is quite fixable lolz , i have a engraved and plated lil oblong dish engraved for a trophy dated 1937 , barely visible ( now that the plating is wore ) is where it was changed from some other engraving but umm it's no longer fixable , it is in my "melt later pile " tho :P
Je suis Charlie
if it was easy would it be as worthy ? or as long of lasting impression ? the hardest of lessons are the best of teachers [shrugz]" To sit in judgment of those things which you perceive to be wrong or imperfect is to be one more person who is part of judgment, evil or imperfection."
Wayne Dyer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLzFhOslZPM
Sure, but then all I'd have is a piece with labor in it that still won't sell for more than the price of scrap tin. I understand some folks like the stuff as decorations. I provide them a service. I take the lowest cost items out of circulation and drive up the value of their rare collectables...
Most of the stuff I've collected is still just like the pictures. I'll ingot up a few pounds now and again as it is needed (or in big melts, just weigh the piece and toss it in). I figure if I ever have reason to sell, it's a lot easier to prove what it is if it still has the shape and hallmark.
Are there any real values to these pewter items. I found my first score of pewter after years of looking at local sales.....beat dented mess of a vase and 2 very short non weighted candle sticks. They do not look worth anything but the tin ! BUT is there any stuff out there you should be looking for. Particular hall marks or such
"Most of the stuff I've collected is still just like the pictures"
ditto :P my melt later pile grows a bit from time to time but that's not a bad thing seems when my melted stash has been getting low i find some more beyond repair and am happy to smelt it
i'm trying to recall which old gun rag had a story about shooting pure pewter , i'm thinking it was in the late 70's or early-mid 80's , it seems like a heck of a waste to me but the duc seal they were shooting into had some impressive wound channels ( even with a lil 32 acp !!! not to mention the bigger calibers ) had i a real recovery target i'd be tempted to try it ( repeatedly lolz ) !
Je suis Charlie
if it was easy would it be as worthy ? or as long of lasting impression ? the hardest of lessons are the best of teachers [shrugz]" To sit in judgment of those things which you perceive to be wrong or imperfect is to be one more person who is part of judgment, evil or imperfection."
Wayne Dyer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLzFhOslZPM
Here in Western NY I am in the middle of weekend events. Naples Grape festival this weekend, Cohocton Fall Foliage festival next. I found a cream and sugar set, about 14 oz. for $2 and a stemmed handle less cup at 7 oz for another buck and a 1985 USPS scale 0-2 lbs by half oz. for $.50. That is enough tin for about 70 lbs of coww. Hope to do better next week. This weekend was rainy.
Bill
Micah 6:8
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
"I don't have hobbies - I'm developing a robust post-apocalyptic skill set"
I may be discharged and retired but I'm sure I did not renounce the oath that I solemnly swore!
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |