Pewter

Ancient pewter is an alloy of lead and tin, much used in Roman times. The poisonous nature of lead has resulted in the replacement of lead with antimony, although antimony is also inadvisable in high amounts for utensils. Common pewter in antiquity may consist of 60-80% tin, 40-20% lead, while modern pewter may be 15-30% copper, 5-10% antimony and 87-94% tin. Also called 'Britannia metal'.