Cast iron skillet value: how to identify Griswold

Updated 21 October 2026

Most old cast iron skillets are worth a modest sum as good pans to cook with. A few are worth hundreds or more, and the marks on the bottom tell you which you have.

Start with the bottom

Turn the skillet over in good light. Most of what decides its value is cast into the underside:

The maker's mark, a logo or name, usually in the centre. Many good old pans have none at all.
The size number, such as 8. It is not the width in inches. It dates from wood stoves, when pans were sized to fit the stove-top openings. A No. 8 is usually about 10 to 10½ inches across the rim.
The pattern number, a separate number that identifies the mould design. Griswold's No. 8 skillet is 704 and Wagner's is 1058. A letter after it often marks a variant.
The heat ring, a raised rim around the edge of the base that lifted the pan on old stove tops. Earlier pans usually have one; later ones are mostly smooth-bottomed. Notches in the ring help identify some unmarked pans.

Griswold: the logo tells you the era

Griswold made cast iron in Erie, Pennsylvania, until its Erie foundry closed in 1957, and it is the name collectors look for first. Its logo dates the pan, though the dates below are approximate and overlap.

Mark	What it looks like	Roughly when
ERIE	The word ERIE, with no cross logo. Some read GRISWOLD'S ERIE	Before about 1910
Slant logo	A cross in a double circle, with GRISWOLD in slanted letters. Later versions add ERIE, PA, U.S.A.	About 1909 to the early 1920s
Large block logo	The same cross, with GRISWOLD in bold upright letters and ERIE, PA, U.S.A.	About 1920 to about 1940
Small block logo	A much smaller cross logo, with ERIE, PA	About 1940 to 1957
Later marks	A Griswold logo without ERIE, sometimes beside a Wagner mark	After 1957, into the early 1970s

Collectors call slant-logo pans marked ERIE, PA, U.S.A. "slant EPU". The large block logo is usually the most sought after of the common marks. Small block pans generally sell for less. Pans made after 1957, including those marked both Griswold and Wagner, are generally not collected.

Wagner Ware

Wagner, of Sidney, Ohio, was Griswold's main rival. The Wagner pans collectors want are marked SIDNEY -O-.

From about 1914 the pans read WAGNER WARE.
The stylised logo, a large decorative W with SIDNEY and -O- beneath it, appears from around 1922.
The "pie logo", set in a wedge-shaped border, was made for only about ten years from the mid-1920s and is popular with collectors.
After 1959 SIDNEY -O- was dropped, and collectors treat that as roughly the end of collectible Wagner.

Lodge and unmarked pans

Lodge, of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, has made cast iron since 1896. From the 1930s it sold many skillets without its name on them. Collectors recognise these by the heat ring: one notch opposite the handle on 1930s pans, and three notches, at nine, twelve and three o'clock, on pans from about the 1940s to the 1980s.

Big foundries, including Wagner and Birmingham Stove & Range, also sold unbranded lines through hardware and department stores. Their quality is usually as good as the marked pans, but most unmarked skillets are valued as pans to cook with rather than as collectibles.

What makes a skillet valuable

Maker and mark. Older Griswold and Wagner marks usually beat later ones.
Size. Very small and very large sizes, such as No. 2, No. 13, No. 14 and No. 20, were made in far smaller numbers and fetch far more.
Variant. Heat ring or smooth bottom, pattern number and small casting details can change the price sharply.
Surface. Older pans usually have a smooth, machined cooking surface, unlike most modern cast iron. A grainy finish and blurred lettering suggest a reproduction.

Rough value tiers

Typical ranges from sold listings and specialist auctions, for pans in good condition. The exact variant decides where a pan falls, and a damaged pan can be worth a fraction of these.

Skillet	Typical value
Unmarked or later pans (1950s onwards), including most unmarked Lodge	Often $20 to $50
Wagner Ware SIDNEY -O- No. 8	Often about $30 to $60
Griswold large block or slant logo No. 8	Often about $60 to $150
Rare sizes and early marks, such as Griswold No. 13, No. 14, No. 20 and early ERIE pieces	Hundreds to several thousand dollars

At the top end, Griswold No. 13 skillets have sold at specialist cast iron auctions for around $2,500 to $3,300, before buyer's premium.

Damage that kills value

Cracks. Even a hairline crack that doesn't leak drastically reduces collector value. Look in strong light for a fine line running across the rim and down the side. The "rings like a bell" tap test is unreliable, because seasoning can muffle it.
Warping. Set the pan on a hard, flat, level surface, not a stove top, and press on the rim at several points. A pan that rocks is a "wobbler"; one that turns on a bowed-down centre is a "spinner". Lay a straight edge across the inside too, because a pan bowed upwards can still sit flat. Even slight warping cuts collector value sharply.
Pitting. Rust that has eaten into the metal leaves small craters that cleaning cannot remove. Pitting on the base from sulphur in old stove fuels also lowers value.
Burn damage. Pans "cleaned" in a fire can turn a patchy, scaly, dull red. The iron is permanently changed and often won't hold seasoning.
Grinding and blasting. Pans that have been sandblasted or ground smooth have lost their original surface. Most collectors avoid them.

Should you clean it before selling?

Don't do anything drastic. A pan caked in old black crust usually sells for less, because the crust can hide cracks and pitting. Collectors strip pans with a lye bath or electrolysis, which remove old seasoning and rust without harming the iron. Never sandblast, grind, burn a pan in a fire or put it through a self-cleaning oven.

If you don't strip it, sell it as found and say plainly that you can't see what is under the crust. Don't oil it to look better in photos, and describe any warping, cracks or pitting honestly.

Find what it actually sells for

Search eBay for the maker, size and pattern number, for example "Griswold 8 704 large block", and tick Sold Items. Asking prices for "rare" cast iron are often far higher than what pans sell for.
Compare only pans with the same logo, heat ring and condition.
For a rare size or an early mark, results from specialist cast iron auctions show what serious collectors pay.

Related guides

Have a skillet to check?

Photograph the bottom, the cooking surface and the handle. Worthzy reads the logo and numbers, gives a value range from comparable listings, and says so when a photo can't settle it, such as a hairline crack or a slight warp.

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