Ideally they would be bronze. I bought brass pins to use then I found out they were brass plated steel. The steel oxidizes and is obviously a different color than the bronze so I put the pins in places that are easy to hide.
Put a patent on coal ash investment casting!? Making do with bountiful resources provided, nice. Unquestionably the classiest dumpster on the planet - another feather-in-your-cap masterpiece!