Details for Tin or tin alloy

In theory, use for tin, or for alloys where you suspect that the major ingredient is tin. In practice, tin as a primary material is pretty much impossible to tell from lead, and as a coating is not possible to tell from silver (use ‘white metal’ in these circumstances). Relatively pure tin with a little hardening alloy added (e.g. post-medieval pewter or Britannia metal) tends to crystallise in the soil and form delaminating layers or cuboidal blocks, so you can safely use ‘tin or tin alloy’ for these, with the words ‘pewter’ or ‘Britannia metal’ in the Description field if desired. Use ‘tin or tin alloy’ for certain 17th-century coins which are known to be made from tin, although these will generally be too late to be worth recording.

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