  In RIn3 and RSn3 the rare earth (R) is trivalent, except for Eu and Yb, which
are divalent. This was experimentally determined in 1977 by perturbed angular
correlation measurements of the electric-field gradient on a 111Cd impurity. At
that time, the data were interpreted using a point charge model, which is now
known to be unphysical and unreliable. This makes the valency determination
potentially questionable. We revisit these data, and analyze them using ab
initio calculations of the electric-field gradient. From these calculations,
the physical mechanism that is responsible for the influence of the valency on
the electric-field gradient is derived. A generally applicable scheme to
interpret electric-field gradients is used, which in a transparent way
correlates the size of the field gradient with chemical properties of the
system.
