Identify a vintage cast iron skillet from its marks

Turn the pan over and tell us what you see: the wording, the numbers, the heat ring. Skillet Marks compares those clues with a sourced reference library and shows which makers and date ranges fit, what supports each one, and what is still in doubt.

Identify your skillet See an example result

How it works

1. Look at the base. Hold the pan bottom up with the handle at 6 o'clock. A photo helps you keep track of where each mark sits.
2. Enter the clues. Copy the wording exactly and note the numbers, ring and handle. Skip anything you cannot see clearly.
3. Review the evidence. Each candidate lists what fits, what does not, the documented date range and the next photo that would help most.

When the answer is “we can't tell”

Plenty of old skillets carry no maker's name, and some cannot be attributed by anyone. When the clues are thin we say so and suggest what to check next. Date ranges come from collector references and period catalogs; where those disagree, you see both.

Start with a guide

• How to Identify a Vintage Cast Iron SkilletLearn how to read skillet logos and size numbers, compare heat rings and handles, and photograph the clues that help identify an old cast iron pan.
• What Do the Numbers on a Cast Iron Skillet Mean?How to tell size numbers, pattern numbers, catalog numbers, pattern letters and molder's marks apart on a vintage cast iron skillet.
• Cast Iron Heat Rings and Notches: What They Tell YouHow to read the heat ring on a cast iron skillet: inset or outside rings, one notch or three, and which makers and decades each pattern points to.
• How to Identify Unmarked Cast Iron SkilletsNarrow down an unmarked cast iron skillet using the heat ring, notches, size number position, handle and pour spouts, with the makers each clue points to.

Browse by maker

• Griswold Skillet Logo Identification and DatesIdentify a Griswold cast iron skillet by its logo: ERIE, slant logo, large block and small block, with the date range each source gives, pattern numbers and signs of reproductions.
• Vintage Lodge Skillet Identification: Notches and DatesIdentify a vintage Lodge cast iron skillet. Most carry no name: learn the single-notch and three-notch heat rings, size number positions and the dates they indicate.
• Wagner Ware Skillet Identification and DatesIdentify a Wagner or Wagner Ware cast iron skillet by its trademark: block, arc, Sidney O., stylized logo and pie logo, with date ranges, catalog numbers and unmarked Wagner.

Or open the full reference library.