Pewter vs. silver

If you bought something made out of silvery metal, how could you tell if it's silver or pewter? Googling says to try nitric acid to see if it's silver or not, but is there a less dangerous method? I took a silversmithing class a few years ago, so I know silver can have firescale (black marks caused by too much heat). Can pewter also have firescale? Or some other kind of oxidation? Various websites say modern pewter can't tarnish, but silver can. I know silver has a distinctive smell. What does pewter smell like?