The Little Bail-Handle Pot Marked Only "Wagner"

The Little Bail-Handle Pot Marked Only "Wagner"

A small cast iron bail-handle pot from Steve's Seasoned Classics carries a single clue on its underside: the word "Wagner" in flowing cursive script, with a script "2" — and no "Ware," no "Sidney, O.," and no stylized single-"W" logo. That absence is the whole story. Under the trademark-dating framework maintained by The Cast Iron Collector, Wagner's mark "consisted solely of the word 'WAGNER'" for roughly its first thirty years, and only became "Wagner Ware" about 1914, with the iconic logo arriving around 1922 — so a "WAGNER"-only script mark points to the Sidney, Ohio foundry's earlier lettering period. This deep dive separates what the mark can establish (Wagner Manufacturing Company, founded 1891 in Sidney, Ohio) from what it can't (a precise year for a bail-handle pot of this exact form), and flags the open questions honestly for the next collector who spots the same script on the bottom of their own piece.

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Wagner Ware Sidney ‑O‑ Nickel-Plated Double Skillet

Wagner Ware Sidney ‑O‑ Nickel-Plated Double Skillet

Two words stop collectors in their tracks: PATENT PENDING. Most Wagner 1401-C double skillets carry issued patent numbers. This one doesn't — it was made while the application was still in Washington. Add a pristine original nickel cooking surface that has never been stripped, and the small round handle hole that confirms the early date independently. This is what the earliest Wagner double skillet looked like. Very few survived to tell that story in this condition.

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Wagner Ware Krusty Korn Kobs Junior Cornbread Pan — Pattern 1319

Wagner Ware Krusty Korn Kobs Junior Cornbread Pan — Pattern 1319

Seven corn cob cavities. A patent date of July 6, 1920. The full Wagner Ware Sidney-O mark, the registered Krusty Korn Kobs trade name, and pattern 1319 — all cast into the base of a single pan. Wagner's signature corn stick design in the Junior configuration, with every kernel row sharp and the seasoning intact. Acquired from a Goodwill auction for $7.99. The iron remembers what it's worth even when the market doesn't.

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Wagner Cast Iron Bean PotStove Ring Kettle — Size 8

Wagner Cast Iron Bean PotStove Ring Kettle — Size 8

A Wagner No. 8 cast iron bean pot from the early arc mark period — before WAGNER WARE, before Sidney-O, before catalog numbers. The arc WAGNER mark with decorative flourishes, three cast leg feet, original wire bail handle, and the stove ring flange that locked it into a wood or coal stove eye for the long slow cook that fed American families in the foundry's earliest years. The oldest Wagner mark configuration in the SSC collection.

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