Albion metal is a form of metal foil produced by rolling tin onto a lead base, or sandwiching lead between two sheets of tin.[1]
An alternative method of production was to cast tin onto an ingot of recently-cast, congealing, lead.[2]
Albion metal is used for decorative rather than load-bearing purposes, such as coffin adornments, toys, and costume jewellery, [3] [4] and for protecting foodstuffs and drinking water from contact with lead.
It was introduced and patented in 1804, by Thomas Dobbs, an inventor from Kings Norton who was also a comic actor at the Theatre Royal in Birmingham, England.
The patent was the subject of a legal dispute in 1857, when a failed attempt was made to use it to invalidate another later patent.[5]