Is antique pewter low quality

Answer 1

Pewter is an alloy of two or more metals. Its quality is determined by how much tin is in the alloy as opposed to other metals. especially lead. Most pewterers in the British Isles, Ireland and elsewhere had, by law, to belong to a guild which set minimum standards for the quality of the metal that the guild members used. All guild members had to mark the items that they made with their individual punch, which was registered with the guild, to indicate who had made the item. The guild committee conducted visits from time to time to inspect the premises of their members and would routinely destroy items that they found and that were below standard. Some pewter items that are unmarked may have been made by traveling gypsies or non-guild members who obviously were not bound by guild rules. But, some small and particularly delicate items were not marked because applying the punch might cause distortion or damage to it. High tin content items take a very high polish with any good metal polish. But, high lead content items tend to build up a crust on the surface over many years which cannot be polished. Therefore, the metal looks very dull and uninteresting. This is one way of telling whether the item is of good or bad quality. There are two schools of thought within collectors of the metal, those who favour polishing it and those who don't. Over the centuries, a few of these pewterer's puches fell into the hands of faker's and, as the metal became more valuable to collector's, numerous fakes appeared on the market. After 100 years or more, telling the fakes from the genuine item has become exceedingly difficult. When in doubt about the authenticity of an item, consult an expert.