Griswold and Wagner Cast Iron Price Guide: Logos, Sizes, and What Your Skillet Is Worth

A Griswold #8 skillet with the large block logo typically sells for $60–$150, while a Wagner #8 brings $25–$60, and common unmarked skillets bring $15–$35. Rare sizes and early marks push Griswold well past $300. Value depends on the maker, the logo style, the size, and whether the pan sits flat and is free of cracks. With holiday cooking and gift buying in full swing, November is the best month to sell.

Why Cast Iron Sells in Q4

Cast iron is a perfect holiday gift. It is useful, it lasts forever, and a restored vintage skillet has a story that a new one does not. Home cooks buy pans for Thanksgiving and holiday baking, and gift buyers look for something special for the cook in the family. Collectors buy all year, but the gift market adds a lot of buyers from early November through mid-December.

How to Identify Griswold and Wagner

Griswold (Erie, Pennsylvania)

• Slant logo (“ERIE” in slanted script inside the cross): early, roughly 1905–1920s. Often has a heat ring on the bottom.
• Large block logo: a big cross logo with block letters, roughly the 1920s–1940. The most recognized and widely collected mark.
• Small block logo: a smaller cross logo, roughly 1940–1957. Still good, but usually priced below large block.
• Victor: a budget line made by Griswold, collected in its own right.
• Size number. On the handle top for skillets, on the bottom for many others. The number refers to the old stove-eye size, not inches.

Wagner (Sidney, Ohio)

• “Wagner Ware Sidney -O-”: the classic mid-century mark, often with a stylized logo.
• “Wagner” in arched letters (older): earlier pans, generally worth more.
• Unmarked Wagner: pans with only a size and pattern number; commonly from the mid-century.
• Magnalite (cast aluminum): a Wagner product, but not cast iron. Priced separately.

Other Names Worth Knowing

Birmingham Stove & Range (BSR), older Lodge with three notches in the heat ring, Favorite Piqua Ware, Vollrath, and Wapak all sell. Wapak pans with the Indian head logo are a strong collector category.

Cast Iron Price Ranges (2026 Sold Prices, Cleaned and Seasoned)

Griswold

• #3 skillet (small block or large block): $25–$60
• #8 skillet, small block logo: $40–$90
• #8 skillet, large block logo: $60–$150
• Slant logo skillets with heat ring: $75–$250
• #10 and #12 skillets, large block: $100–$300
• #13 skillet: $800–$2,000+ (rare)
• Dutch ovens with lid, #8: $100–$250
• Muffin and cornbread pans, waffle irons: $40–$250 depending on pattern number

Wagner and Others

• Wagner #3 skillet: $15–$35
• Wagner #8 skillet: $25–$60
• Wagner #10 or #12 skillet: $40–$100
• Wagner Dutch oven with lid: $50–$120
• BSR or older Lodge skillets: $20–$60
• Unmarked American skillets: $15–$35
• Modern Lodge (preseasoned, rough surface): $10–$25

Rusty, crusty pans sell for about half these prices to buyers who restore them. A pan with thick black buildup can hide a crack, so many buyers discount it until it is stripped.

What to Check Before You Price

• Wobble. Set the pan upside down and right side up on a flat surface and press the edges. A spinner or wobbler loses a big share of its value.
• Cracks. Hold the pan by the handle and tap it with a wooden spoon. It should ring. A dull thud can mean a crack; look closely along the sides and bottom.
• Pitting. Light pitting from rust is common. Heavy pitting on the cooking surface lowers value.
• Warping. A raised center or high spot means the pan will not sit flat on a burner.
• Fire damage. Red or pinkish patches after stripping can mean the pan was in a fire, which can weaken it.

Most collectors strip vintage cast iron with lye or electrolysis and reseason it. If you restore pans, disclose how it was done; buyers like knowing. Never sandblast or grind a vintage pan to remove rust.

Reproductions

Fake Griswold pans and novelty pieces are common, especially from overseas. Signs include a grainy, sandpaper-like surface, a thick, heavy casting, a blurry or misshapen logo, and odd shapes like animal-shaped cornbread pans and small decorative trivets with the Griswold name. Real Griswold surfaces are smooth and the pans are light for their size.

When and Where Cast Iron Sells Best

In a booth or at the flea market, cleaned and seasoned skillets sell steadily at $15–$40. Hang them on a pegboard wall or stack them on a sturdy shelf with sizes marked. A small sign saying “cleaned and seasoned, ready to cook” turns browsers into gift buyers. Small Business Saturday is a great day for cast iron because it fits the shop local, buy something real mood.

Online, list Griswold and better Wagner by early November. Shipping cast iron is heavy, so buyers expect fair shipping costs; use a box with padding so the pan does not punch through. Demand slows after mid-December but cast iron does not need a seasonal markdown; it sells all year.

Reading the Size and Pattern Numbers

Griswold and Wagner skillets carry a size number and, on many pieces, a separate pattern number. On a Griswold skillet the pattern number appears near the handle on the bottom, such as 704 for a #8 skillet. Collectors use these numbers to tell variations apart, and variations can change value. A pan with a heat ring (a raised ring on the bottom) is often older and can be worth more than the same size without one.

Size matters too. The #8 is the most common and most practical, so it sells easily but at a lower price than rarer sizes. Small #2 and #3 pans are popular as gifts and for single eggs. Very large and very small sizes, and odd pieces like oval skillets, gem pans, and waffle irons, can surprise you. Always look up the pattern number on anything you have not seen before.

Gift-Ready Cast Iron

Holiday buyers want a pan they can cook in tomorrow. Clean, seasoned, and lightly oiled pans with a smooth cooking surface sell best. A hand-written tag with the maker, the size, and “cleaned and seasoned” helps a lot. Some booth vendors tie a bow on the handle and include a small care card. A matched set of three skillets (#3, #6, and #8) makes an easy gift at $60–$120 for Wagner and more for Griswold.

Bring the rest of the kitchen along. Lids, trivets, and cast iron trays round out a gift and add a few dollars to every sale.

Common Pricing Mistakes

• Pricing all Griswold at large block prices.
• Selling a slant logo or early Wagner as a generic pan.
• Missing a wobble or crack until the buyer finds it.
• Selling a fake Griswold trivet or novelty pan as vintage.

Check the Mark, Then Check the Price

Found a stack of skillets in the garage? PocketPrice can price each pan from a photo, calibrated to how you sell. Our kitchen and dining price guide covers regional demand, and the vintage enameled cookware guide covers the colorful side of the kitchen.