China Plates aren't your only Mates

Ever since ceramic materials were developed for use as plates and holloware in the mid 19th century, they have taken over the dining table.  Prior to this time, pewter and sterling silver (as well as wood) were the primary materials for many of the items found on a dining table including plates.  Pewter has long been used for tableware going back many centuries.  Its' low melting point was ideal for ease of manufacturing.  Sterling silver was used for dinner and bread plates from the Georgian era to the mid 20th century by those who could afford it's very expensive cost..

Pewter plates were manufactured by Gorham, Towle, Reed and Barton and others until the 1970s.  They are still manufactured by small boutique and bespoke makers.  They are fairly easily obtainable from online auctions and directly from the pewter smiths themselves.  Used pewter plates from online auctions are fairly inexpensive.  New pewter items can be pricey.  Pewter is an alloy of 92% tin, and 8% antimony/bismuth.  This alloy is known as Britannia.  Notice that there is no lead included.  Pewter's bad rap comes from American pewter smiths adding a small amount of lead to their pewter alloys during the colonial era.  Unless you are eating off of a genuine American colonial antique pewter piece, lead is not an issue.

Sterling silver plates are no longer being manufactured to any great extend except by bespoke manufacturers.  Prices are expensive.  An eight plate dinner set on the secondary market found online starts at $5-6K with silver selling for $20 a troy ounce.  A 12 piece Tiffany dinner plate set can go for between $10-15K.  Bread plates are fairly common and sell for roughly $150 a piece online in the secondary market.

There is another plate that needs mentioning-the sandwich plate.  As the name implies, this is a plate used for lunch and afternoon tea.  It is similar in size to a dinner plate.  The most consistent distinguishing characteristic between a dinner and a sandwich plate is the well of the plate.  Typically, the well of a dinner plate is deeper and wider than a sandwich plate.  The well of a dinner plate extends across the plate except for the border.  The well of a sandwich plate is very shallow and centered in the middle of the plate, extending perhaps 4-5 inches or so in diameter.  There are many more sterling silver sandwich plates available than sterling silver dinner plates on the secondary market.  The problem is most sellers don't know the difference.