Griswold cast iron skillet. Simple identification guide using logos.

Griswold cast iron skillet size number 10.

Learn to date and identify your Griswold cast iron. 

If you have a Griswold cast iron skillet that has been hiding in the back of your kitchen cupboard. Then it is time to bring it out, dust it off, and start using these vintage pans. People really enjoy and treasure these old skillets, including myself.

In this article, you can learn to date and identify your Griswold cast iron using markings. And also by the different logos and brands, Selden & Griswold and Griswold Manufacturing Company used between 1873-1957. 

Table of contents

  • Selden & Griswold cast iron
  • Erie cast iron
  • Griswold cast iron skillet logos
  • Victor cast iron
  • Iron Mountain
  • Good Health cast iron
  • Best Made skillets
  • Puritan cast iron
  • Merit cast iron
Griswold cast iron identification guide
How old is my Griswold Skillet? Well, get your old pans out of the cupboard. Because this article is a guide to identify and date your old skillets.

Griswold Manufacturing background


Origins

The origins of Griswold Manufacturing Company dates back to 1868 as a small operation making door hinges.

Selden & Griswold Manufacturing Company
(1873-1884)

The Selden and Griswold family business becomes the Selden & Griswold Manufacturing company.

Griswold Manufacturing Company
(1885-1957
)

The company grew to become one of America’s largest and most respected cast-iron manufacturers of the 20th century.

Reasons for collectibility

Griswold cast iron skillets are highly regarded and sought after because of their smooth cooking surfaces and lighter weight.

Desired and rare skillets

Keep an eye out for the first series of Erie and Erie Spider skillets. These two skillets stand out as the most sought-after by collectors.

Also, rare sizes such the Griswold #13 and #20 are prized by collectors and enthusiasts.

Most valuable Griswold skillet
The Erie Spider and Griswold no13 can cost a pretty penny.

But the most valuable Griswold skillet is your family skillet.

Family skillets vary in size, condition and have various logos. However, they are the most treasured and are often regarded as priceless.

Helpful articles for further reading.

Once you have finished reading this article, I have written beginner’s guides to Griswold skillets. To help noncollectors use, and enjoy their Griswold ironware.

  1. Should I buy a Griswold cast iron skillet?
  2. Where are the best places to buy Griswold ironware as a novice?
  3. How to spot faults in the skillet to avoid overpaying?
  4. Is my antique skillet worth anything?
How old is my Griswold skillet
Collectors and enthusiasts look at a few determining factors to tell the age of vintage cast iron.

Disclaimer: I have tried my best to keep the information as accurate as possible by carefully researching. I have also collected cast iron for over 10 years, so I have some experience behind me. But dates vary between sources, and factors such as handle design can slightly change the date of manufacture.

However, I have spent many hours creating this identification guide. And I hope you find it helpful and informative.

Selden & Griswold cast iron 1873-1884

Matthew Griswold and two brothers from the Selden teamed up and started to make door hinges in 1868. Their factory was known as the Butt Factory, named after the door hinge (butt hinge) manufactured in the casting works.

Vintage photo of Matthew Griswold
Matthew Griswold, the founder of the Griswold Manufacturing Company

Selden & Griswold started to manufacture hollowware in 1873. But most of the cookware with this logo was probably made in the 1880s. Even though Mathew Griswold bought out the company in 1884, he still used the Selden Griswold logos.

After all, it would have taken a lot of time and money to register new patent designs. And to make new molds. Check out our other article to learn about the history of Griswold ManufacturingWikipedia also has some information on Griswold. Although I hope my article is a little more detailed.

Griswold Vintage Waffle Iron
Selden & Griswold waffle iron. The company manufactured other ironware, but I have only seen waffle iron come up for sale.

How old is my Griswold cast iron skillet? Logo approximate dates


“Erie” Logo
Made around 1880-1907

Griswold’s Erie
(Griswold diamond logo)

Circa 1884-1910

Style changed
Griswolds’s Erie

Circa 1905-1906

A new logo was introduced called circle cross.
Slant Logo

With heat ring circa 1906-1916

Slant logo with EPU

Circa 1906-1929

Slant logo without Erie

No Erie under logo circa 1909-1920

Griswold with large block logo

Without italic lettering 1920-1930

Large block logo
(without heat ring)
Circa 1930-1939

Griswold large slant logo
(without heat ring)

1939-1944

Small block logo
Notable reduction in logo size. Circa 1939-1957

Erie cast iron (approximation date 1880-1907)

Erie cast iron is some of the most sought-after vintage cast iron you can collect. Griswold used this logo between 1880-1907.

Erie cast iron
Erie cast iron was manufactured between 1880-1907. Over the years, Griswold made slight changes to the Erie line. Such as the handle, Erie logo, and the pattern number in the center. In total, there are six known series of Erie skillets.

Erie cast iron skillets are very thin and light. Because of this, they are more prone to warping. So if you are buying an Erie online, make sure you ask the seller if the skillet rocks or spins. That being said, I would not look past an Erie skillet just because it has a little movement.

Erie skillets are also known to be super smooth and are often priced similar to other vintage pans.

Other foundries during the time used Erie skillets as a template to make their own molds. And it is not uncommon the find Sidney Hollow Ware and Wapak skillets with an Erie ghost mark

If you have an Erie skillet, you can further break the Erie logo into 6 different variations. The Wagner and Griswold Society has an article on the markings and variations of the Erie skillets.

Close up photo of the Erie logo. Erie logos were used on cast iron skillets made by Griswold Manufacturing Company.
Erie cast iron skillets are super light and smooth. However, if the skillet was used on coal or wood range. It may have pitting marks on the base. It is not uncommon for an Erie skillet to have pitting.

If you look at the back of your cast iron Griddle, and you see a diamond logo. Then it is your lucky day. The Griswold Diamond logo is an early logo, and it is more scarce than other logos.

Griswold Griddle with Diamond logo
This is not a skillet, but I thought including this logo could be helpful. It is called the Dimond logo, and you will likely see it on Griswold Griddles.

Griswold manufactured griddles with this logo Circa 1884-1910. The logo is positioned in the center. Unfortunately, this is an area on cast iron often damaged by sulfur pitting.

Griswold Erie diamond logo.
Griswold Erie Diamond Logo is often found on griddles rather than skillets circa 1884-1910.

Griswold’s Erie Trademark

Griswold used this logo somewhere between 1905-1909. There are conflicting dates, so I used a conservative timeline. Since Griswold used the Griswold’s Erie logo for a short time, it is harder to find skillets with this logo.

The Griswold’s Erie logo is the first Griswold logo. It transitions from previously used Erie logos to Griswold logos. However, the Griswold’s Erie logo shares similarities which Erie skillets.

Sizes

Look for Griswolds’s Erie skillets between sizes 6-9 and 11 to 12.

Griswold's Erie cast iron skillet. This skillet was only made between circa 1905-1909
Griswold’s Erie logo circa 1905-1909. Great logo and is a little harder to find.

Griswold Slant logo with heat ring no EPU.

The first of the famous Griswold skillet logos. The Griswold Manufacturing company used the Slant trademark from 1906-1916. Again this is a wide conservative range.

Griswold skillet with slant logo. Slant logo without the EPU markings.
Griswold Slant Logo without EPU. You can see this is missing the words Erie PA., U.S.A under the logo.

The Griswold slant logo is easy to recognize with the word Griswold which is in italics. Also, the Slant logo has characteristics that differ from Erie and Griswold’s Erie skillets.

Changes Griswold made on their Slant logo skillets.

  • The size number on the base of the skillet moved from the 6 o’clock to 12 o’clock position. 
  • Erie is placed below the Griswold logo. From 1880-1907 the word Erie is placed at 12 o’clock. 
  • The pattern number moved from the center of the skillet to 6 o’clock on the skillet to make room for the Griswold circle cross logo.
Griswold cast iron "Erie" and Erie markings
Does your slant logo pre-E.P.U. have “ERIE” in quotation marks or ERIE without quotation marks? If you know why Griswold did this please, let me know in the comments.

Griswold Slant logo sizes

Slant logo sizes range from 1-14. The largest skillet with the Griswold Slant logo is #14. A Griswold #13 slant logo can cost thousands of dollars to the serious collector. Needless to say, the skillet has to be in excellent condition to achieve this price.

Griswold cast iron skillet No9.
Griswold slant logo skillets without EPU mostly do not have a number on the handle.

Griswold slant logo with E.P.U and heat ring

The Griswold slant trademark changed to add the words cast iron skillet in an arc at 12 o’clock on the skillet. The EPU is in reference to the wording Erie PA., U.S.A., on the skillet. 

The slant logo, however, remained the same. Again I cannot pinpoint the exact date of manufacture of the Griswold slant logo with EPU. If you have a Griswold slant logo with EPU the manufacture date is around 1909-1929.

Griswold cast iron skillet No 8with EPU.
Griswold slant logo with EPU. What does EPU mean? It is an abbreviation standing for Erie PA., U.S.A. that is seen under the Griswold logo. Note the heat rings in the number 8 skillets tend to be more rounded.
Griswold skillet size number 10
Griswold Slant Logo with EPU. Note the size number is now stamped on the handle.

Slant logo without Erie marking

I have only seen this trademark used on a few Griswold cast iron skillets. It seems to be quite rare. The logo is the same as the Slant logo without the EPU marking. And, this logo also omits the marking Erie.

Griswold skillet with slant logo no Erie
Here is a Griswold skillet which is a little different. It lacks the Erie marking under the circle cross logo.

Griswold cast iron skillets without Erie marking had a manufacture date around 1909 to 1920.

Sizes available: I have only seen the large slant logo without Erie on size #9 skillets. I do not know of other skillet sizes that came with this logo.

Griswold cast iron skillet missing the Erie under the logo.
The Erie is missing underneath the logo. Circa 1909-1920

Large block logo (with heat ring)

One of the more popular markings or trademarks. And is known as the Griswold block logo. The block logo is very similar to the Slant logo. However, the word Griswold is no longer in italics. Griswold is in straight block lettering.

Skillets with the block logo probably were made between 1920-1930. Griswold also manufactured a wide of sizes ranging from 0-14. However, Griswold Manufacturing also made a number 20.

The Griswold #20 is a massive skillet and can cost a pretty penny online. And it is called the Griswold Hotel skillet.

Griswold cast iron skillet with Large block logo
The Large Block Logo was made circa 1924-1940.

Large block logo without heat ring (smooth bottom)

Griswold also put the large block logo on cast iron skillets with a smooth bottom rather than the familiar heat ring. However, the sizes were more limited. Look out for sizes between 2-10 if you want to collect a complete set.

Smooth bottom skillets are not as desirable to collectors as skillets with heats rings. So you can expect to pay less for a Griswold without a heat ring. 

Why the change? Cookware with heat rings was for use on wood or coal ranges. However, with the introduction of electric cookers, cast iron cookware with heat rings slowly gave way to cast iron skillets without heat rings. 

So if you want an excellent old skillet without the price tag of highly collectible pieces. Then a skillet with Griswold Large Block trademark could be a great option.

Griswold made skillets with the large block logo and a flat bottom between 1930-1939.

Griswold cast iron skillet with large block logo
Beautiful skillet with large block logo. This skillet was made Circa 1930-1939.

Griswold slant logo without heat ring

Griswold also used the Slant logo on smooth bottom pans.

However, slant logos on skillets without a heat ring is not as common as skillets with a heat ring. These pieces seem to sell at a similar price to a smooth bottom Griswold with a block logo. Griswold made these skillets between 1939-1944.

Cast iron skillet with Griswold logo
Here is a smooth bottom pan with the large Griswold Slant logo. Circa 1939-1944.

The Griswold Small Block marking is not as collectible to cast iron enthusiasts, but they are still fantastic skillets. Griswold drastically reduced the size of the logo, and skillets came without a heat ring. Skillets lost much of their character. But, there are some beautiful skillets around with the small block logo.

Watch out for sellers pricing these skillets at high prices. Because you can expect to pick up a skillet with the Griswold small block logo at a lower price than more collectible skillets.

Not the say the small block skillets are not any good. But the small block logo is simply not as collectible, so you may pick a good skillet at bargain prices.
The Small Block logo was made between 1939-1957.

Griswold skillet with small logo
Small block logo. You can probably see why the Griswold Small Logo is less collectible than other logos. However, these pans are still great cookers. You might be able to pick up a skillet with a small logo at a great price. Circa 1939-1957

If you have a skillet with the small block logo, check out this article. You will learn three different handle types to better estimate the age of your skillet.

Griswold Manufacturing’s big brands were Erie and Griswold. But they also made cast iron cookware under different brands.

Griswold like other foundries made a lower grade range of cast iron cookware. And was more budget-friendly.

Griswold Manufacturing’s budget-friendly line.


Victor

Circa 1890s to the 1930s.

Iron Mountain

Circa 1930s-1940s.

Griswold Manufacturing Manufacturing a budget brand called Victor.

Victor was a budget-friendly line of cast iron. Griswold made Victor skillets between the 1890s to the 1930s. And the logo also changed over the 50 years. Simply marked in the beginning with Victor at the 12 o’clock position like Erie skillets. Later the logo on the cast iron skillets became embellished. 

Griswold Manufacturing marketed Victor cast iron as a lower grade. But, this does not mean lower quality. But the skillets still have super smooth cooking surfaces.

Close up photo of Victor cast iron logo made by Griswold.
Victor cast iron skillets were made by Griswold Manufacturing Co., Griswold made Victor skillets for around 50 years. Circa 1880s-1930s.

If you have a piece of Victor ironware, I have written an identification guide to estimate the age of your pan. Click on the link to learn more.

Iron Mountain 

Griswold made another lower-priced range of cast iron known as Iron Mountain. Unlike other cookware made by Griswold Manufacturing, the Iron Mountain range doe not have a logo or trademark on the ironware. This makes it hard to identify than other skillets

But there are a few characteristics which the Iron Mountain skillet series have which can identify them. Look for a rectangular hole in the handle.

Griswold made Iron Mountain cast iron between the 1930s-1940s. Since Iron Mountain cast-iron was a budget line. It is probably not a surprise Iron Mountain skillets have a heat ring for use on older wood and coal ranges.

Iron Mountain skillet
Here is an Iron Mountain skillet. Note the 4 digit pattern number and the unusually shaped handle.

Griswold Manufacturing made skillets for other companies. 

Sears contracted with Griswold Manufacturing Company to make cast iron cookware for their department stores. The Cast Iron Collector also has some great information on cast iron store brands. Griswold store bands that included.

Store brands manufactured in the Griswold foundry.


Best Made

Manufactured in the 1920s

Puritan

From the 1920s to-1930s, Griswold Puritan cast iron will have a pattern number at 6 o’clock.
If you have Puritan cast iron, click the link to learn more.

Good Health

Made from the 1920s to-1930s

Merit

Circa 1920s-1940s
Best Made skillet made y Griswold Manufacturing.
Best Made Sillets were made by Griswold Manufacturing for Sears.
Puritan cast iron logo.
Puritan Cast iron skillet made by Griswold Manufacturing Company. To identify Puritans skillets that were made Griswold. Look for the 4 digit pattern number below the size number.
Good Health Skillet made by Griswold. Close up photo of the logo.
Good Health Skillets were made by Griswold Manufacturing Company circa the 1920s-1930s.
Merit cast iron skillet logo
Do you have a Merit skillet? Yes, Merit skillets were made by Griswold as well.

Griswold cast iron skillet identification and dating. 

  • You can identify your skillet by using logos and marking on your skillet. This site and other online resources can help you date your Griswold cast iron skillet.
  • The Griswold slant logo block logo with a heat ring is more desired by collectors, And they also tend to be more expensive than skillets without a heat ring.
  • However, you will most likely pick up a great Griswold skillet without a heat ring at a lower price.

Pre Griswold is a term used for Erie skillets.

Erie cast iron is sometimes described as Pre Griswold. Griswold Manufacturing Company made Erie cast iron cookware. However, the Erie logo was used before Griswold started to place their company name on their cookware.

Griswold Skillets are wonderful but take your time if you want to buy one.

If you have a Griswold Cast iron skillet. Then you should be one proud owner. Many pay a premium for Griswold cast iron skillets. However, the word is out Griswold to the name to collect. And some sellers are asking some hefty prices. Just take your time if you want to buy one of these beauties.

Griswold made other brands.

If you have an Erie or a Griswold, then you have yourself one fine skillet. But the store brands and the Iron Mountain range are pretty good too. Even though smooth bottom skillets are not as collectible many prefer them on modern hobs.

There is good reason Griswold has the reputation of making some of the best antique cast-iron you can cook with.

Enjoy your skillet.

Here are some FAQs.

How much is my Griswold Skillet worth?


Even though an exact amount can not be placed on your skillet. Some sizes and logos are more desired by collectors and enthusiasts. Generally, skillets with heat rings and larger skillets sell at higher prices.

How much should I pay for a Griswold skillet?

Some Griswold cast iron skillets are rarer than others. While the word is out that Griswold cast iron is the name to collect, some asking prices have skyrocketed and are getting onto the crazy territory.

However, many sellers value their sellers at market value. Especially those who specialize and trade-in vintage cast iron. Another place to look is the sold listings on eBay. It will give you an idea of the value of your skillet.

How old is my Griswold cast iron skillet?


If your skillet has a Griswold logo, it was made between 1905-1957. During this time, the Griswold Manufacturing Company used a variety of logos and markings Griswold skillets. Luckily we can use these markings to determine the age of your Griswold cast iron skillet.

If you have enjoyed this article, be sure to check out my other articles on vintage cast iron.

229 COMMENTS

  1. I have a GRISWOLD ERIE #4 that looks like a Scotch Bowl….but mine has a very neat looking (professional) small drill hole in the center. I read somewhere it was used to make bread and the tiny hole allowed steam to escape. Do you think this is correct?

    • Hi Patty thanks for getting in touch.

      You could be correct as to the purpose of the hole, And I have a few Dutch Ovens with a hole in the lid to allow steam to escape. However, I’m almost positive the hole was drill by a previous owner, and isn’t factory original.

      It’s fun to imagine why they did this.

  2. So what about a plain “ERIE” skillet? I see them listed as early 20th century on other webpages, the sixth variant, but I don’t see it on here.

    It looks closest to the top image. It just says “ERIE” and a number 8, with a tiny little diamond mark centered under the Erie label. There is a small ring around the outside of the base, quite thin and shallow. And that’s it. It was all rusty line it had been left outside for years, but it cleaned up very nice and smooth.

    I thought it was just some cheapo garbage pan because it was so thin and light, and so I lot a few scuffs in it with a grinding wheel when I got impatient cleaning it up. They won’t show once it gets used a bit, but I wouldn’t have done it if I had realized it was an antique.

    • Hi Sam

      I need to gather more information on the Erie variations before writing a guide. But the diamond marking strongly suggests a series two skillet. Series two doesn’t not have a three digit pattern number in the center of the pan. So you could have an early pan.

      Erie skillets are highly collectable. And you have already alluded that using grinding wheel on the skillet wasn’t the best restoration method. So you are correct, as grinding greatly diminishes the value and collectability of the pan.

      However, it sounds you’ve already learned a lot, so I’d say that’s a win. Enjoy your antique Erie.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here