William Lipovsky
Short Answer — Pewter is generally worth around $4 per pound at scrap yards. Antique and vintage items made of pewter typically have a higher value to antique collectors (up to thousands of dollars); prices vary depending on the style, age, and condition. For more details about how much pewter is worth and how to identify it, see below.
How Much Is Pewter Worth?
Pewter consists mostly of tin.[1]
When selling pewter for scrap, you can expect to get about half of the current tin price — so, in general, around $4 per pound at a scrapyard.[2]
Not all scrap yards will accept pewter. Beyond their scrap value, pewter items often have value as antiques.
In use since Roman times, pewter is commonly found in kitchen and household items like chalices, jugs, spoons, buttons, tankards, candlesticks, and inkwells.[1]
The older your item and the better its condition, the more collectible it will typically be; factors like manufacturer also matter in the valuation.
Everyday items like dishware from the mid-20th century often sell for under $100, while specialty items like sculptures, figurines, and vases can fetch up to $5,000 or more on the antique market.[3][4]
Identification & Valuation
Depending on whether it’s polished, pewter can look similar to many other metals, including silver and bronze. It can also serve as a base for silver or gold plating, which can make it challenging to identify.[5]
Keep the following tips in mind to determine the value of your pewter item(s).
Identifying Marks
Your pewter may include three different types of marks: the pewterer’s mark, capacity/verification marks, and ownership marks.[6]
The pewterer’s mark might include the maker’s name, initials, hallmark, label, or number.[7]
Capacity and verification marks show that the piece was inspected by the government.[8]
Ownership marks, as the name implies, were sometimes stamped by the original owner of the piece and usually include a monogram design or the person’s full name.[9]
Note that your piece may include one or more of these marks or may not be marked at all. While identifying marks can help pinpoint the age and origin of your pewter, some makers didn’t follow legal requirements like capacity marks.[8]
If you’re unable to decipher the marks yourself, you may want to consult a pewter expert.
Features
Pewter is silver in color but will darken over time, so you may be able to estimate the age of your piece by its color as well as its markings.
It doesn’t tarnish, instead darkening evenly, which can help you identify your piece as pewter rather than silver.[10]
In style, pewter ranges from simple to intricate, depending on where and when it was made. For example, Early American pewter is known to have a simple, utilitarian style.[11]
If you’re unable to identify a piece based on its marks or other features, consider reaching out to an organization like The Pewter Society or a Pewter Collectors’ Club member-dealer for an expert evaluation.
There’s always a chance that your piece might be a more recent reproduction, even if it looks old; an expert can help you find the true identity.
How to Sell
The best way to sell pewter is through your nearest certified antique dealer or antique fairs.
The Pewter Society holds two auctions a year exclusive to members.
Antique dealers have the expertise to appraise the item and give you an accurate price estimate. When navigating antique fairs, keep an eye out for true pewter specialists — otherwise, you might not get a fair price.
There are also several online resources for pewter sale, such as PewterSellers.com and online auction sites like eBay. You can browse eBay’s collectible pewter page to compare your own pieces to similar items for an idea of what you might earn.
When selling online, it’s important to include high-quality, professional photos of your pewter. Pictures of your item can make or break a sale.
Photographs should have good lighting and focus to accentuate color and texture. The pewter’s surface condition is critical to buyers, so take notice of dents, scratches, or corrosion patches; these will decrease the value.
Also, don’t forget to call attention to any touch or capacity marks to ensure authenticity.
My mother had a pewter teapot,coffee pot and sugar and creamer and also a tray they all sit on
It is marked real pewter and the sugar has those thumb print markings mentioned
Can you tell me what this may be worth
Thank you
Hi Josie,
On eBay, pewter tea sets with the tray are selling for around $50-$80. You could also get a price estimate from an antique dealer. See our article Antique Buyers near Me? Where to Sell Antiques Nearby, Online, or on TV for more on how to find a local dealer.
I have 6 antique pewter plates. I believe they are of European origin.
Each has three “Justice” marks on the back. Unfortunately, I can not decipher the words but I think one is “Blok.”
Each one has somone’s initials in script font on the front and they are dated from 1732-1737 in the same font.
Unfortunatey, they are tarnished…
Do you think they have value
Thanks so much for any info
Hi Lin,
I would recommend having them assessed by an antique collector. Our article Antique Buyers near Me? Where to Sell Antiques Nearby, Online, or on TV will probably be helpful. It explains how you can find a local antique dealer.
I have plates gravy bowls,a whole,set,wanting to sell,where do I go to sell it
Hi Lisa,
If you want to sell your pewter as scrap, you can do so by contacting a local scrap yard. You might make more money, however, if you sell the set whole. If your set is in good condition and complete, I’d recommend trying to sell it to a local store that sells used houseware. Pewter doesn’t usually scrap for much, so you’re probably better off selling the set.
Hi I have a lid to something with Asian symbols and the words nguan kwang heng swatow. Do you know anything about this by chance? What it would go with and was it valuable. Thank you for your time.
Hi James,
Pewter comes in many different grades, so you’ll have to take it to a scrap yard for analysis to find out exactly how much it’s worth. Because scrap pewter isn’t usually worth that much, it’s usually more profitable to sell the piece whole. If you could find whatever matches with the lid, you could probably make more than if you just scrapped the lid. Assuming you don’t have the match for that lid, you can find a local scrap yard near you, and their prices.
I have a pewter stein with lid and 6 pewter shot glasses made in W Germany. Any ideas on how much it is worth? It says 93 percent pewter
Hi Susan,
Is there anything else you can tell me about the pieces? Do you know the approximate age of them, and are there any other words or letters that would help identify the manufacturer of these?
It is a hunting motif stein made by n W Germany OLWE. On the bottom of the shot glass it says FRIELING-ZINN. SERIE LINDENWIRTIN. I have had it for about 20 years my my husbands uncle who lived in Germany had it but we don’t know how long. There are marking on the stein but they are too small to make out
Hi Susan,
The Frieling company from Sundern/Sauerland, Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany is a popular pewter company (zinn is German for pewter). While I am not sure of the age of the pieces, I did see quite a few steins being sold for about $50 on auction sites — much more than the value of the pewter.
Hi there!
I have quite a few 10oz Makers Mark Julep Cups. (280) of them.
I found them in a storage unit I purchased a year ago. Was 7 boxes and in each box was 8 box with sets of 5 cups (40) per box. Each box weighed 24lbs. After doing research I discovered the Makers Mark website and of course their not available now but the prices on them were $79.99 each. On the bottom of each cup it says (Genuine Pewter)
My question is should I try eBay? Or contact an auction service?
If I’m not mistaken if I was to buy these at their cost it would have costed me $22,397 These cups have a brushed looked with the logo and look amazing.
I would say I got lucky on this find.
Hi Jason,
What a fantastic find! I also researched these beautiful cups and found them being sold by Makers Mark for $79.95 each! While you can certainly list them on eBay, I’d like to think that such a large collection may do better at auction. I also found quite a few of these cups through similar online auction sites. The ones selling on eBay were going for about $40 a piece, which would still garner you quite a bit of money. Good luck!
Hi I’m trying to find out more about my great great grand mothers teapot, there is a trade mark which looks like a man with a teapot on his head & the name Thomas Otley & Sons SHEFFIELD , 4001 5 4
It would be great to find out more.
Hi Joy,
I am wondering if you have a pewter teapot or a silver plated one. Thomas Otley & Sons, in Sheffield, England, produced Britannia goods between 1872-1911 that were nickel plate, electroplate on metal, and electroplate on nickel silver. They specialized in tea and coffee services. Because your teapot says Otley & Sons and not Otley & Sons Ltd., it looks like it was produced between 1872-1900. They are often valued by collectors because of the pretty etching that often adorns them. I did a quick search through eBay and found some of these teapots going for between $55-$65.
Can I just ask you 1 more question? Where should I go to sell this??
Hi Karen,
The Pewter Society lists the outlets where you will have the most luck selling it. Don’t forget that eBay has become a very popular site for selling pewter, too. Good luck!
I have what looks like a chalice and there are 6 of then. It’s stamped 2152 pewter and the name looks like Freisner. Are they worth anything?
Hi Karen,
The pewter company is actually Preisner, a well-known name in pewter for more than 50 years. They still make beautiful pewter pieces in their Connecticut location. The value of your goblets/chalices will depend on when they were made. I tried to locate this information based on the 2152 stamp, but I was unable to locate a date. However, I did find a few different auction sites selling a set of eight 2152 goblets/chalices for between $33-$50. Hope this helps!