Pewter was introduced to Britain by the Romans in the 1st century AD and by medieval times every town had its own pewter shop and craftsman, the ‘hammerer’. By the 16th century London was the world centre for the pewter trade and Sheffield is now considered the home of Pewter in England.Pewter is an alloy of tin and with new advances in metallurgy is now all lead free. As a result it has a highly polished finish making it an excellent, practical alternative to silver. Production is a highly skilled process which includes mixing the alloy, rolling, bending, soldering, spinning, casting and polishing each item.
The tankard is then spun on a lathe where craftsmen form the flared rim and base as well as shaping the body and adding pattern detail. Finally, a succession of abrasives and brushes are used to bring out the high shine, similar to silver. 
I am begging anyone and will pay for the help in finding out some history of my pewter mug I unearthed in Scotland. I live in Florida, USA. I found it with my metal detector almost four feet underground in Tweedsmuir. It has the image of Jesus Christ on the handle and some fancy imprints of ferns and flowers around the cup. There is no makers mark that I can't see except for the number 6 or 9 boldly stamped on the bottom. Please help me while I help you. Call me at 727 565 5060 or email me at chris.carcione25 at gmail.com
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