Pewter is a
malleable metal alloy, traditionally 85–99%
tin, with the remainder consisting of
copper,
antimony,
bismuth and sometimes, less commonly today,
lead.
Silver is also sometimes used. Copper and antimony act as hardeners while lead is common in the lower grades of pewter, which have a bluish tint. It has a low
melting point, around , depending on the exact mixture of metals. The word
pewter is probably a variation of the word
spelter, a term for
zinc alloys (originally a colloquial name for zinc).
