Element 50 · Post-Transition Metal
Tin
Tin gave its name to the Bronze Age — and remains essential in solder, food packaging, and brass alloys.
Element Facts
SYMBOL
Sn
ATOMIC NO.
50
ATOMIC WEIGHT
118.71
CATEGORY
Post-Transition Metal
PERIOD
Period 5
GROUP
Group 14
Overview
Tin is element 50, a soft silvery-white post-transition metal with the unusual property of "tin pest" — pure tin transforms into a brittle grey allotrope below 13°C, which is why old tin objects can crumble. Cornwall was the world's primary tin source from antiquity until the 19th century — Cornish tin built much of the Bronze Age. Modern uses include solder (replacing lead in lead-free electronics solder), food can coating ("tinned" cans are steel coated with tin), and as an alloying element in bronze, brass, and pewter. The LME tin market is small but commercially important, with prices significantly higher per tonne than copper.
Our Scrap Grades for This Metal
We buy tin through brass alloys (which contain small tin percentages in some specifications) and through electronic solder occasionally separated from cable processing.