Brass painted lead/tin "pewter" alloy being sold as brass

Sometimes die cast (an aluminum-zinc alloy, 700 series casts) gets mixed in with brass at yards. The pricing assumes this. But sometimes actual pewter does too and tin's high price pays off for the furnaces that process the scrap brass.

Originally Posted by JJinLV

Sometimes die cast (an aluminum-zinc alloy, 700 series casts) gets mixed in with brass at yards. The pricing assumes this. But sometimes actual pewter does too and tin's high price pays off for the furnaces that process the scrap brass.

What I'm referring to is a cheap lead alloy that is being passed off as brass. It looks like cast brass. I can take pictures here in a little bit. It's not a die cast zinc alloy and it's not a high tin (ie pewter) alloy. It's probably 95% lead with the rest being tin. Similar to what muzzleloaders would cast bullets from. It only takes a little bit of tin to make the (mostly lead) casting look good. It's also similar to what a lot of old picture frames are made of.