Pewter

Pewter is an alloy made of tin mixed with antimony and copper. It is soft and flexible and it can be melted easily. It dissolves in hydrochloric acid to produce tin(II) chloride, leaving the antimony and copper behind in the hydrochloric acid. In the past, it was used to make knives, forks, spoons and other pieces of cutlery because it was easy to melt down many times. It used to contain poisonous lead, but it does not contain lead anymore as the lead would make people ill when making things with pewter.

• Stainless steel, another alloy commonly used for silverware

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