Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Pinchbeck \Pinch"beck\, n. [Said to be from the name of the
   inventor; cf. It. prencisbecco.]
   An alloy of copper and zinc, resembling gold; a yellow metal,
   composed of about three ounces of zinc to a pound of copper.
   It is much used as an imitation of gold in the manufacture of
   cheap jewelry.

Pinchbeck \Pinch"beck\, a.
   Made of pinchbeck; sham; cheap; spurious; unreal. ``A
   pinchbeck throne.'' --J. A. Symonds.

Source : WordNet®

pinchbeck
     adj : serving as an imitation or substitute; "pinchbeck heroism"
     n : an alloy of copper and zinc that is used in cheap jewelry to
         imitate gold