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From: Walt Vogdes
Remote Name: 24.113.108.29
Why didn't that occur to me?
Sad to report, your steins are not nearly as early as the seller represented. Both were made during the latter half of the 19th century, and following the guidelines John laid out, the first is 1890+, the second is perhaps 20 years earlier.
The first of these steins was blown into a mold for shape, then cut and polished. The second was also mold-blown for shape, but not polished to the same degree, hence the uneven surface which corresponds to the surface in the mold.
I'm not so quick to conclude the the 6 on the first stein represents a date. That seems like wishful thinking to me. The second one does seem to be dated, but let's remember two possibilities to explain a date which is earlier than the stein - the lid may have been replaced, or the "date" may have been engraved into the pewter at any time after it was made.
All of that aside, they are both nice steins.