Pickin' Some Pewter

It’s funny how collections tend to evolve over time.
When I first started collecting crusty old European treasures, I can say that pewter pieces were not on my to-find list.
But…you never know what little trinket will turn your head.

I remember well a particular day trip that we took into France, several years ago. Angela and I had just recently met and she invited me on a girls-only (kid-free) day trip into France.
I was elated as,
1) I desperately needed girly~adult time and,
2) shopping in France? Oh yeah.

So on this little trek, I had hopes of finding sweet delicate little shabby treats, and instead I started a lifelong relationship with...pewter!?

Pewter? Seriously?

When I previously thought of pewter, this is what came to mind:


Um, nice (I guess….) but just not my cup of tea.

But these little French pewter measuring steins were the head-turners that immediately changed the way that I look at pewter.


This set is not near as old as those that many collectors would kill for, but I love the kitschy souvenir aspect of them.

While you can supposedly eat and drink out of pewter, the stamp on these basically translates into, "if you eat or drink out of this, you'll be sorry". So we'll just use these for decor!


After finding this little French-y set, every time I venture into Germany or France, I keep an eye out for more pewter measuring steins.

I found this set while roaming around Germany. These are my favorite, as I love the chunky~curvy design of them.


The little angel stamp (it's actually Michael - the angel) is the give-away that they are German.

German pewter casters have used this stamp basically forever, which actually makes it more difficult to date an item. That's okay with me.
I just think they're cute.

This set is Italian, and I just love all the little pieces - a set of 7 in all.

They’re stamped Peltrato and the 95% indicates that they are food safe. Anything below 90% is not safe for eating. (you learn something new everyday).


My kids are not supposed to play with my collections, but do you see this little brown mark on one of the steins? That's not rust.


I'm pretty sure it's chocolate. Someone is busted.

In case you’re wondering, no way are these babies for sale, but I can assure you that Pewter measuring steins are always on my buying trip list.
I just might be bringing some back in March!

Of course if I find too many sets, I may be forced to keep another set for myself (I really hope my husband isn’t reading this…).

That's all for now. I have to get back to flight-searching (oh, joy). I'm not real sure why winter flights to Europe are running high right now, but I'm at the point where I'm considering calling Lufthansa and begging them to lower their flight prices.
Please? (bitte?)

Hope you're off to a fabulous week!


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