Collectable Cast Iron Sticky

[Sasquatch-1]

Has anyone considered a sticky to list all the quality collectable cast iron that is out there. I was at an antique shop this week and they had a bunch of cast iron. All priced above $70.00 and some well up into the $100.00 + range. I know a couple have been mentioned but can't remember the names. If I find something at a yard sale for next to nothing I want to know if it is worth putting aside or trying to flip for a profit. Or whether I can just go ahead and start melting in it.

I think this would have be another closed type forum where submissions would have to be added by the moderator to make it easier to find things.

[WILCO]

Griswold and Wagner are the top two.

Check out this link: http://www.wag-society.org/

[ReloaderFred]

I have an old Bell Telephone System wiping pot that collectors of telephone memorabilia would love to have. These are extra heavy cast iron pots, with a heavy handle that has a loop for hanging on a cable clamp over the splice. It's marked "Bell System" on the bottom.

Hope this helps.

Fred

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Its a whole other world; the Gris/Wag society is a good place to start. You could also punch up Griswold Cast iron or Wagner Cast Iron on E-Bay just to see pics and prices of what is floating around. They are equal in quality and cooking ability, but Gris is the more popular (and pricier) and there is a thousand or more pieces up for auction going thru the chute every week. Some are the common/popular pieces and the $$$ isn't too bad, but the rarer stuff can get really crazy. A number of good books are in print that are usually found for sale in antique stores. The Gris /Wag society also holds yearly conventions where all the collectors get together and some of the stuff that they bring to sell can drive one crazy....and broke. Its fascinating and very much never-ending. LLS

[Suo Gan]

Has anyone considered a sticky to list all the quality collectable cast iron that is out there. I was at an antique shop this week and they had a bunch of cast iron. All priced above $70.00 and some well up into the $100.00 + range. I know a couple have been mentioned but can't remember the names. If I find something at a yard sale for next to nothing I want to know if it is worth putting aside or trying to flip for a profit. Or whether I can just go ahead and start melting in it.

I think this would have be another closed type forum where submissions would have to be added by the moderator to make it easier to find things.

I have been selling this junk for a long time. It is trendy and faddish. But you asked what to buy. Buy anything extremely small or extremely large. You will know what you are looking at sooner or later. If it has a grainy sand cast pattern, not tight steer clear. Do not buy anything made in Taiwan etc. Don't buy anything that is cracked or chipped. The normal sizes are not generally collected because they are normal. Unless they have some unusual feature that makes collectors go apey.

There now, you know more than I did when I started.

Then sell it to these dupes that think they are getting some sort of status symbol. A fool will soon be parted from their money. These things ebb and flow. The trick is to be on the leading edge of the selling and make a killing. I do not have any cast iron at all except some real cheapies from Lodge. When everyone knows...you are too late and the fad is about to give up the ghost.

The real trick is, what will be the next thing that is considered junk now, that you can buy for pennies or get for free that will be tomorrows gold. I have my ideas...but I am not telling.

[Sasquatch-1]

I am not really interested in collecting my self. I did see a pan marked Erie and one almost identicle marked Griswald. Both had about the same price. I would like to know whether are not a piece is collectable if I buy it at a yard sale or thrift store so I won't use it for smelting.

It would be nice if a list was compiled and posted. That way if some thing is bought and ends up being collectable the buyer may pass it on to someone who does collect for a substantial savings.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

Erie was the name that Griswold used circa 1890 and for a few years after and then they went over to Griswold's Erie and then Griswold. If you see and can get anything that is marked Erie....grab it. The price on it just keeps going up and will continue to do so. Same for Griswold's Erie. You can check for cracks by tapping the piece with anything metal; if it rings you're ok, if you get a flat sound its got a crack somewhere. I agree that a list would be nice and would help a lot of people, but it would be a real long one. I would be able and willing to contribute to it. Griswold and Wagner and a few others made a lot of stuff. There were many foundries going in the US for many years and they made some nice things. The only surviving one at this time is Lodge. LLS

[TXGunNut]

My only problem is that I've never met a cast iron kettle, pan, or oven that I didn't want to cook with. I guess a cheapie would be OK. Would be a tragedy to use a classic for a smelting pot.

[Le Loup Solitaire]

The classic stuff does a good job in the cooking department; that's what it was made for. Using a classic piece isn't a tragedy or a sin, but if you ever want to cook in/on it again you have to be thorough about cleaning it before doing so. There is a cult that believes that this is not possible and that once you smelt or cast with a cast iron item that you can never ever clean it sufficiently or cook with it again...and that doing so will cause you to come down with acute thrombosis of the blowhole or alter future generations with irreversible genetic damage. Not True !! But there are a couple of ways to systematically clean the piece and safely remove any trace of lead that will render the item once again safely usable for cooking. If you have a CI piece that you want to keep in the kitchen for cooking then do so; if you want to smelt or cast then find an item/receptacle that is a cheapie like "made in Taiwan or unmarked and use that. LLS