Ahrens & Arnold No. 3 Skillet — Wapakoneta Mark
Ahrens & Arnold operated in Wapakoneta, Ohio, for only a few years in the late 1920s — founded by former Wapak Hollow Ware employees after that foundry's closure, documented in almost no historical record, and known to collectors today through a handful of surviving pieces. This No. 3 cast iron skillet carries the full A&A marking layout in exceptional condition: the CAST · IRON · SKILLET arc with raised dot word separators, the AA arrow emblem, and the WAPAKONETA / OHIO. origin text with its characteristic terminal period — every authentication marker present and clearly legible. One of the rarest named makers in the American cast iron corpus, now documented in the SSC collection alongside its Wapak Indian Head No. 3 counterpart to tell the complete Wapakoneta story.
Wapak No. 3 Skillet — Indian Head Mark
Every Ohio foundry in the SSC collection marks its iron with text or geometry — an arc, a cartouche, a diamond. Wapak chose a face. The Indian Head medallion centered on this No. 3 base — a Native American figure in feathered headdress, cast in profile, surrounded by the company inscription — is the most visually distinctive mark in the Ohio foundry corpus. This No. 3 carries it in exceptional condition: headdress feather detail preserved, facial profile clear, inscription readable. It is the finest-condition marked piece in the SSC collection, the first Wapak entry, and the highest single-piece acquisition to date. Some iron earns its price