Be sure to read to the end for – as Paul Harvey would say – “the rest of the story!”
2019 Query from Richard
Richard R. from Collierville, Tennessee wrote to me via the contact form and said:
Hello. I have attached two pictures of a three pour spout skillet I found at an estate sale. One picture is as found and the other after cleaning in lye tank. I have been hunting for cast iron 2-3 years and lurking
on the internet sites and have purchased the red book and blue book for reference books. One of the books made reference to the [L]odge 3spout . Do you think this is one? I am sorry I did not take [a] picture of
the bottom, any info you can advise would be appreciated. I love hunting for cast iron and learning each facet about its history, etc. Thanks,
Richard attached two photographs to his email. The first showed the skillet pre-cleaning. The second showed the skillet after Richard had cleaned it in a lye bath.
I knew right away from the photos that Richard had a Lodge 3-pour-spout skillet. It looked to be in beautiful condition; I could see the grinding marks on the walls of the pan.
Richard told me that he paid $10 for the skillet at a Memphis, Tennessee estate sale a few years back. Well, that was a lucky buy!
I asked Richard to send me a photograph of the bottom of the skillet. Here are three of the additional photos he sent:
I gave a little presentation at the Lodge Collector’s tent at the 2019 Cornbread
Richard’s skillet is a “no-notch” skillet, made by the Lodge Mfg. Co. in South Pittsburg Tennessee between 1910 and 1930.1
2019 – John C’s Opinion as to the Value
I reached out to Lodge historian and collector John Clough about Richard’s skillet. I had talked before to John about the 3-pour-spout skillets, and I knew that he would know the monetary value of the pan.
Richard, John told me (in late 2018 or early 19 – I expect that the value has increased since then!) that he believed that your 3-spout no-notch Lodge skillet would sell for at least $1,000. That’s quite a return on your $10 investment. Probably one of the best buys I’ve ever seen.
Congratulations, Richard! That’s a lovely and very valuable pan that you have there. Continue to enjoy your cast iron hunting!
(originally posted 2019).
2024 – The Rest of the Story
In early 2024, I was on the GCICA Facebook page, showing off some of Harold R. Henry’s collection. I was asked to post photos of Harold’s 3-notch skillets. I knew Harold at one time had one or more, but I didn’t have a photo. I did, however, have a photo of Mark Goldschmidt’s then collection of three 3-notch skillets. I posted that photo, as did collector Matt Morris.
Matt relayed a story – that Mark had purchased the number 6 skillet at an online Facebook auction for $1,626, from a person who had purchased the skillet for $10 at an estate sale. Small world! Two very valuable 3-notch Lodge skillets, both found at estate sales.
Keep your eyes open when you are on the cast iron hunt!
- The “notch” refers to a break (“notch”) in the heat ring on the bottom of some old Lodge skillets. In Mark Goldschmidt’s 3-pour-spout Lodge skillets, the two at the top of the photo each have one notch. “1-notch” pans were made by Lodge circa ~1930-40. Lodge also made “3-notch” skillets from ~1940 – 1922 with different variations throughout.