Your Easy Identification Guide On Erie Skillets

You have a skillet marked ERIE, and you want to know how old it really is. Maybe it came from a grandparent’s kitchen, maybe you found it at an estate sale — either way, you’re holding a piece of Griswold’s earliest work, cast back when Erie, Pennsylvania was the beating heart of American cast iron.

Erie skillets were made for just 27 years, from around 1880 to 1907, before Griswold introduced the circle cross logos that followed. In that short window, six slightly different skillets were produced, and collectors have grouped them into six series based on small details like handle design or markings — and once you know what to look for, you too will be able to date and identify your own skillet within a few years of when it left the foundry.

Quick Reference To Place Your Erie Skillet In Time

Series	Heat Ring	Approximate Date
Erie Spider	Outer	Circa 1880-1881
Frist (scooped handles)	Outer	Circa 1880-1886
Second (marker’s mark)	Outer	Circa 1886-1892
Third (most common)	Outer	Circa 1892-1905
Fourth (Artistic Erie)	Outer and Inset	Circa 1905
Fifth (with quotation marks)	Inset	1905-1907
Sixth (no quotation marks)	Inset	1905-1907

Table of Contents

1. The Six Variations Of The Erie Skillet
2. First Series Erie
3. Second Series Skillet
4. Third Series
5. The Fourth Series, Also Known As The Artistic Erie.
6. Fifth Series
7. Sixth Series Erie Frying Pans
8. Collecting And dating Antique Erie Skillets

Your Erie in Time

Visual Markers To Identify Your Erie Cast Iron Skillet.

The six variations of the Erie skillet can be difficult to clearly identify. This is due to subtle changes in design that can be looked to those new to cast iron collecting. 

Also, manufacturing inconsistencies can make identification harder as each skillet has unique characteristics.

However, the six variations are determined using the following factors:

• Handle design
• How the handle is visibly attached to the pan. 
• The placement of the heat ring.
• If the pan has a three-digit pattern number.
• The font used on the word Erie 
• If the word Erie also has quotation marks.
• Markings on the back of the pan (pictures, letters). 

Using these factors, you should be able to identify most Erie cast iron pans. However, as mentioned previously, manufacturing inconsistencies due to individual machining and polishing can make identification difficult, even for cast iron collectors. 

Did you know The Griswold Manufacturing Company made Erie cast iron? To learn the history of the company click the link. And you can identify your Griswold skillets by clicking this link.

How To Correctly Identify And Date My Erie Cast Iron Skillet?

First Series Erie Skillet | Circa 1880-1886

The main characteristic of the first series Erie skillet is the back of the handle appears to be scooped out. The scooped-out handle only appears on the first series Erie skillet. And this makes it very easy to identify. 

The distinctive handle and the fact it is the oldest in the Erie series make these pans highly collectible. All the Erie pans are collectible, but collectors favor these early pans. And large skillets that sit flat are highly prized.

Erie series one	Comments
Handle	Scooped Out Handle (Only On Series 1).
Heat Ring	Outer Heat Ring
Pattern Number	No Three Digit Pattern Number
Reinforced Rim	Pronounced Lip Around The Rim Of The Pan.
Sizes Available	#7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12

Second Series Pans | Circa 1886-1892

Do you have a 2nd series skillet? Let us find out. The defining characteristic of a series two Erie is a picture or letter on the back of the skillet called a Maker’s Mark. 

Some Maker’s Marks are well-detailed, and others have a simple design. Collectors recently are paying higher prices for elaborate and well-defined pictures such as the American flag and trophy.

However, not all second-series Erie skillets have a Maker’s Mark. This is unknown to many enthusiasts and not highlighted on other online resources. 

Therefore, it has caused some confusion when identifying a second series Erie without a Maker’s Mark. 

In this case, your best option is to look at the handle design to identify a series 1 vs. series 2 Erie. 

Second Series Erie	Comments
Handle	Non Scooped Out Handle
Heat Ring	Outer
Pattern Number	No Three Digit Pattern Number
Reinforced Rim	Pronounced Lip Around The Rim Of The Pan.
Maker’s Mark	May Have A Letter, Symbol Or Picture On The Back Of The Pan. But Not Always
Sizes Available	#6, #7, #8 #9, #10, #11, #12

Third Series | Circa 1892-1905 (introduction of a pattern number).

This series sees a substantive change in design and introduces a three-digit pattern number. However, the third series retains the outer heat ring seen in the first and second series. 

A skillet with an outer heat ring and a three-digit pattern number is likely from the third series. 

Interestingly, some third-series skillets I have seen have a maker mark. It is unusual but not uncommon. However, the three-digit pattern number is the overriding factor. In such a case, the skillet is considered from the third series. 

Third Series Erie	Comments
Heat Ring	Outer
Pattern Number	Has A Three Digit Number
Reinforced Rim	Pans Either Have A Pronounced Lip Or Blended Into The Sidewalls
Makers Mark	Most skillets do not have a marker’s mark, but some do.
Sizes Available	#6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12

The Fourth Series, Also Known As The Artistic Erie | Circa 1905

The fourth series stands out as probably the most unique. The fourth series is also known as the Artistic Erie. In this series, the font used in the Erie wording is radically changed from standard block lettering to a stylized font.

There are only two sizes in this series, #9 and the scarce #5. And while the outer heat ring remains the same for the number 9 skillet, the number 5 is the first Erie pan to have an insert heat ring. 

Fourth Series (Artistic Erie)	Comments
Heat Ring	Outer Heat Ring On #9 And Insert On #5
Pattern Number	Pans Have a three digit pattern number
Reinforced Rim	Blended into sidewall
Makers Mark	No
Sizes Available	#5, #9

Fifth Series Erie (Inset Heat Ring With Quotation Marks) | Circa 1905-1907

At first glance, the fifth and sixth series Erie frying pans look similar to the third series. However, if you look at the heat ring, it is a different style. The fifth series now has an inset heat ring instead of an outer ring on the previous series. 

If the base is heavily pitted from sulpher damage, you can distinguish series 1-4 and 5-6 by which pans have an outer ring vs. pans with an insert ring. 

Fifth Series Erie Skillets	Comments
Heat Ring	Inset Heat Ring
Pattern Number	Pans Have A Three Digit Pattern Number
Reinforced Rim	Rim Is Blended Into The Sidewall
Makers Mark	No
Sizes Available	#5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12

Sixth series Erie Skillet (Inset Heat Ring) (With No Quotation Marks) | Circa 1905-1907

The sixth series skillets have the smallest of changes. The sixth series retains the inset heat ring and pattern number but omits the quotation marks on either side of the Erie marking. 

Sixth Series Erie Pans	Comments
Heat Ring	Inset Heat Ring
Pattern Number	Skillets Have A Three Digit Pattern Number
Reinforced Rim	Rim Is Blended Into The Sidewalls
Makers Mark	No
Sizes Available	#7, #8, #11

The Erie Spider | 1890-1891

Every so often, an Erie skillet turns up with something other than lettering on the bottom — a spider, cast into the base in place of the usual mark. It only ever appeared on the #8 size, and nobody knows for certain why Griswold made it, or why it disappeared again so quickly. The story tied to it goes back to old Scottish folklore, long before cast iron was ever part of it. It’s one of the rarest marks you’ll find on any Erie pan — and if you’ve have one, you’re holding a real piece of cast iron history.

Your Pan’s Story Continues

Six series, over twenty-seven years, and yet every Erie skillet carries the same kind of story — one that started long before it ever reached your hands. Maybe it was passed down without much explanation. Maybe you found it forgotten in a box at an estate sale and had no idea what you were holding. Either way, it’s been part of someone’s kitchen for well over a century.

If you’ve worked through the series above and think you’ve placed your pan, I’d genuinely love to hear about it — what series it turned out to be, and how you ended up with it in the first place. This corner of the site exists because of readers sharing their own pans, and every story adds a little more to it.

References

This article draws on cast iron collector references for markings, dating, and manufacturing history, along with historical sources on industrial growth, rural electrification, and everyday cooking in early 1900s America. Full links below for anyone who wants to dig deeper.

Erie markings, dating, and Griswold history

• Wagner and Griswold Society — “ERIE” Skillets, by Roy G. Meadows: http://www.wag-society.org/guest/ERIESkilletArticle.pdf
• The Cast Iron Collector — Evolution of the Erie Skillet: https://www.castironcollector.com/erie.php
• Wikipedia — Griswold Manufacturing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griswold_Manufacturing

Industrial growth and everyday life, 1880s–1900s

• Library of Congress — Made in America: U.S. Manufacturing in Gilded Age Census Maps: https://blogs.loc.gov/maps/2024/09/made-in-america-maps/
• Smithsonian National Museum of American History — Power from the People: Rural Electrification: https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/power-people-rural-electrification-brought-more-lights
• Wisconsin Historical Society — A Brief History of Man-Made Lighting: https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS286
• National Archives — Picturing the Century: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/picturing_the_century/text/newcent_text.html

Food and cooking in early 1900s households

• ScienceInsights — What Did People Eat in the 1900s: Diet and Daily Meals: https://scienceinsights.org/what-did-people-eat-in-the-1900s-diet-and-daily-meals/

A special thank you

The six-series identification system used throughout this article rests on decades of careful research by W. Dean Fitzwater, John Madole, Steve Stephens, and Roy G. Meadows — collectors and researchers who studied hundreds of Erie skillets to piece together the story these pans don’t tell on their own. Their work, first published in Kettles ’n Cookware and later compiled by the Wagner and Griswold Society, remains the foundation everyone in this hobby builds on, myself included. If you find this guide useful, the credit belongs largely with them.