There are a lot of gifts, knick knacks and absolutely useful things that are made out of pewter including napkin rings, oil lamps, key rings, key hooks, bowls, cutlery, brooches, buttons and plaques.
So just what exactly is pewter? Technically it is just zinc. The word pewter is an ancient distortion of the old slang word “spelter” that is a nickname for the metal zinc. It is a metal alloy made traditionally of 85% to 99% tin with the remainder of the metal being composed of lead, bismuth, copper and antimony. The copper and antimony are used mainly to harden the metal.
Pewter objects are so old that examples have been found in Egyptian tombs that date back as early as 1450 B.C.. Interestingly some of the big cups and vessels found in ancient tombs have a bit of a resemblance to the pewter mugs, flagons and decorative sugar bowls that you see on sale in stores like Danforth Pewter of Vermont.
Historically pewter objects were found in churches, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. Pewter was used to store food until it was determined that the high amounts of lead in the metal could leaching into food.
In Vermont the pewter lamps were shipped to the Eastern coast of the United States as they made excellent whaling lamps and candle sticks.
Today pewter is considered to be a bit too toxic to use as foodstuffs. It is mainly used in decorative objects such as replica coins, pendants, metals and other collectibles. These objects are usually created using a method called “spin casting.” This a form of centrifugal rubber mold casting which means that the molten zinc alloy is poured in a disc shaped mold that is spun on an axis at a set speed. That is the method that is commonly used to make things like coins or plaques. Plastic and resin molds are used to make objects such as mugs or trophies.
Here is something to remember if you are shopping for high quality pewter treasures. The more lead that is in the pewter the lower quality it is and the faster it will tarnish. Lower grades of pewter have a bluish tint while the highest grade have a whitish tint.
Even though most pewter objects are coated with a sealant to keep them from oxidizing (especially if the pewter has a high lead content) it is probably not a good idea to consume beverages or food in them. Pewter objects are mainly intended to be for decorative purposes only.