Wagner Ware Sidney -O- No. 2 Cast Iron Skillet
SSC MUSEUM COLLECTION
Catalog No. SSC-WGNR-SKL-002
Cast Iron Skillet | No. 2 | Size Number Only | Smooth Bottom | Sidney, Ohio
c. 1922–1924 • Wagner Manufacturing Company • Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio
Interior cooking surface of the Wagner Ware Sidney -O- No. 2 skillet, showing the full 4¾-inch cooking floor, scalloped pour spouts on the rim, and the size mark '2' at the handle junction. At 5⅞ inches across the top rim, the No. 2 is the smallest skillet with a stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo in the standard line and one of the rarest sizes in the series.
The Wagner Ware Sidney -O- No. 2 is one of the hardest finds in the complete skillet set. It is the smallest size to carry the stylized logo in the standard line, it was produced in small numbers relative to the mid-range sizes, and it exists in a marking configuration that is distinct from every other size above it: no catalog number. The base of this No. 2 carries only the stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo at 12 o’clock and the size numeral ‘2’ at 6 o’clock. No four-digit catalog number is present.
This is the expected and documented configuration for the standard Wagner No. 2. The Cast Iron Collector Forums confirm that the only known No. 2 with a four-digit catalog number is the pie logo version. The standard No. 2 — marked with the stylized logo and the size numeral only — predates or is from the very beginning of the catalog numbering system introduced in 1924. A size-number-only No. 2 with the stylized logo dates to approximately 1922–1924, after the stylized W was introduced and before or at the moment the catalog numbering system was being adopted across the line.
This example was acquired for the Steve’s Seasoned Classics museum collection in November 2025. It presents in excellent restored condition with a clean cooking surface, smooth base, and all markings fully legible. No MADE IN USA marking is present. No heat ring is present — correct, as the No. 2, like the No. 3, was never produced with a heat ring. The piece is structurally sound with no cracks or repairs.
The No. 2: Smallest of the Stylized Logo Line
Profile view of the No. 2 showing the 1¼-inch sidewalls and the extremely compact overall form. At 5⅞ inches across the top rim, the No. 2 is significantly smaller than even the No. 3, and proportionally deep for its diameter. The smooth base — no heat ring — is visible here.
At 5⅞ inches across the top rim and 4¾ inches at the cooking floor, the No. 2 is tiny. It is sized for the smallest cooking tasks imaginable — melting a tablespoon of butter, warming a single egg, heating a portion of sauce, toasting spices — and proportioned with deep sidewalls relative to its diameter that give it a cooking bowl with useful capacity despite its small footprint. In the domestic kitchen of the 1920s, the No. 2 would have occupied the smallest eye on the range, the auxiliary position reserved for the smallest tasks of food preparation.
The No. 2 was produced through at least the early 1940s per Cast Iron Collector Forum documentation. It does not appear in references to the reduced late-period production range of the 1950s, which contracted to No. 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 12 — suggesting the No. 2 was discontinued before that further contraction. Its production window, while spanning decades, was shorter than the No. 3’s and produced in smaller quantities throughout. The No. 2 in the market today reflects that shorter, lower-volume run.
Collectors note the No. 2 as a genuinely scarce find. It is considerably harder to acquire than the No. 3 and substantially harder than any of the mid-range sizes. In the size-number-only stylized logo configuration, it is rarer still — a piece from the opening years of the iconic Wagner Ware mark, before the catalog numbering system that would organize the line for the next three decades.
No Catalog Number: The Earliest Stylized Logo Era
Base of the No. 2 skillet showing the stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo at 12 o'clock and the size numeral '2' at 6 o'clock. No catalog number is present. This is the documented standard configuration for the Wagner No. 2 — the only known No. 2 with a four-digit catalog number is the pie logo version. The smooth base is confirmed: no heat ring.
The absence of a catalog number is the defining marking characteristic of this No. 2. Wagner adopted its four-digit catalog numbering system in 1924, at which point most sizes in the standard line began receiving numbers of the form 1050+size. The No. 2 would have been catalog number 1052 under that system. However, the No. 2 in size-number-only form — marked only with the stylized logo and the numeral ‘2’ — is the documented standard for this size. Only the pie logo No. 2 carries a four-digit catalog number.
The Cast Iron Collector’s trademark documentation notes that the stylized logo was first introduced around 1922, and that pieces with the high-position stylized logo and size numbers (without catalog numbers) represent the earliest configuration of the stylized W — after the logo’s introduction and before or at the adoption of the four-digit system. This No. 2, with its high-position stylized logo and size numeral only, fits precisely into that window of c. 1922–1924.
The smooth base is the correct and only known configuration for the Wagner No. 2. Like the No. 3, the No. 2 was never made with a heat ring. The smooth-bottom characteristic here is not a later modification — it is the original and only design for this size throughout its entire production history.
Markings Analysis
Bottom profile of the No. 2 confirming the smooth base — no heat ring. The 1¼-inch sidewall depth is visible here. The extremely compact dimensions of the No. 2 — the smallest skillet in the standard Wagner line with a stylized logo — are apparent in this profile view.
The stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo at 12 o’clock is bold and fully legible in the photographs — the characteristic open, confident letterforms of the early stylized W, before the finer, more refined marking character of the later catalog-number era pieces. The size numeral ‘2’ at 6 o’clock is clearly incised. No catalog number, no pattern letter, no MADE IN USA. Three absences that together tell an unambiguous story: this piece is from before the catalog numbering system was established, smooth-bottomed as it always was, from the earliest documented era of the most iconic Wagner trademark.
Handle
Handle detail of the No. 2. The size mark '2' is incised at the handle junction where the handle meets the pan body. The Wagner teardrop hanging loop at the terminus is intact and well-formed. The freshly restored iron shows the clean bare surface of a recently conditioned piece.
The main handle bears the incised size mark ‘2’ at the junction with the pan body. The handle terminates in Wagner’s classic teardrop hanging loop — the open-eye form used across the Sidney -O- skillet line. The handle is intact with no cracks or losses. The fresh restoration visible on the handle surface is consistent with the overall lightly-seasoned condition of the piece at acquisition.
Piece Details
Manufacturer
Wagner Manufacturing Company, Sidney, Ohio
Piece Type
Cast Iron Skillet
Form
Standard skillet with main handle, smooth base, scalloped pour spouts. No assist handle — correct for No. 2.
Material
Cast Iron
Markings
Stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo (looped W) at 12 o'clock; size numeral '2' at 6 o'clock; no catalog number; '2' incised at handle junction
Catalog Number
None — size numeral '2' only on base. The standard Wagner No. 2 without a catalog number is the size-number-only configuration, documented as pre-catalog-number or earliest stylized W era (c. 1922–1924). The only known No. 2 with a catalog number is the pie logo version. This is the standard size-number-only No. 2.
Logo Position
12 o'clock — standard high position
Size
No. 2 — Top diameter: 5 7/8 in. | Bottom diameter: 4 3/4 in. | Depth: 1 1/4 in.
Heat Ring
None — smooth bottom. Correct: the Wagner No. 2, like the No. 3, was never produced with a heat ring.
Made in USA Mark
Absent — confirms pre-1959 collector-era production
Logo Era
Stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- — High Position, Size Number Only (no catalog number), c. 1922–1924
Date of Manufacture
c. 1922–1924 — stylized logo without catalog number; predates or earliest era of the 1924 numbering system
Place of Manufacture
Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio
Condition
Excellent — freshly restored; cooking surface clean; smooth base; no cracks, no repairs; all markings legible
Acquisition Date
November 24, 2025
Acquisition Source
eBay — Seller: mcna9695
eBay Item Number
296272179812
Order Number
18-13869-39227
SSC Catalog Number
SSC-WGNR-SKL-002
Collection Designation
Wagner Ware Sidney -O- Complete Skillet Set — No. 0 through No. 14
Corporate Timeline: Wagner Manufacturing Company
1891
Wagner Manufacturing Company founded in Sidney, Shelby County, Ohio. The No. 2 is among the earliest and smallest sizes in continuous production.
c. 1914
'Wagner Ware' branding introduced on hollow ware.
c. 1922
Stylized 'W' logo introduced. The No. 2 with stylized logo and size-number-only marking (no catalog number) dates from this era — after the stylized W was introduced but before the catalog numbering system of 1924.
1924
Four-digit catalog numbering system adopted. The No. 2 is the size most associated with the size-number-only marking in the stylized logo era. The only documented No. 2 with a four-digit catalog number (1052) is the pie logo version.
c. 1924–early 1940s
No. 2 continued in production through at least the early 1940s, per Cast Iron Collector Forum documentation.
c. early 1950s
Production range contracted. The No. 2 does not appear in the reduced late-period range (No. 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12). Production of the No. 2 likely ended before or at the beginning of this period.
1946–52
Wagner family divests. Company sold to Randall Company of Cincinnati, Ohio.
1959
Textron acquires Randall. SIDNEY -O- removed from logo. Last year of collector-era production.
1999
Sidney foundry closes permanently after 108 years of production.
2022–23
Wagner Cast Iron relaunches with Wagner family guidance. Former Sidney foundry building demolished June 2023.
Why This Piece Matters
The Wagner Ware Sidney -O- No. 2 matters because it is genuinely rare. Not collector-lingo rare, not hard-to-find-in-perfect-condition rare, but actually rare in the market in any condition. The No. 2 was produced in smaller numbers than any size above it in the standard line, over a shorter production window, and the size-number-only stylized logo configuration places this specific piece in the earliest two years of the iconic Wagner Ware mark — the window between the introduction of the stylized W around 1922 and the adoption of the catalog numbering system in 1924.
It matters as the lower anchor of the complete set. In a display running from No. 0 to No. 14, the No. 2 is the second-smallest skillet — the piece that shows where the functional skillet range began before it opened outward through the domestic and institutional sizes. The No. 2 on its own is a small, specialized tool. In a complete set, it is the beginning of the story.
It matters because the marking tells a specific historical moment. The stylized W without a catalog number is the mark of the No. 2 in the very first years of Wagner’s most famous brand identity. This piece was cast from Sidney iron at the moment when the looped W was new, when it had just been introduced to the market, before the foundry had established the administrative systems that would organize its production for the next three decades. The mark is early. The iron is small. The piece is significant.
The iron endures. The markings tell the truth. The story deserves to be told.
Sources & Further Reading
Physical examination of piece: stylized Wagner Ware Sidney -O- logo at 12 o'clock; size numeral '2' at 6 o'clock; no catalog number present; size mark '2' at handle junction; smooth base confirmed (no heat ring); no MADE IN USA marking. Five seller photographs examined prior to acquisition.
Cast Iron Collector Forums (castironcollector.com/forum) — Wagner Ware Collecting thread. Primary reference for the documentation of the No. 2 configuration: 'There is a #2 with a c/n, but it is the pie logo.' Confirms that the standard No. 2 in size-number-only form is the expected configuration; the only documented No. 2 with a four-digit catalog number is the pie logo version.
Cast Iron Collector Forums — Wagner Ware Smooth Bottom (1935–1959) Questions thread. Confirms No. 2 and No. 3 smooth-bottom only; No. 2 in production through at least the early 1940s; No. 2 does not appear in the reduced late-period range of the 1950s.
The Cast Iron Collector (castironcollector.com) — Evolution of the Wagner Trademark. Documents stylized logo size-number configuration (pre-1924 and earliest catalog-number era) and high-position stylized logo characteristics. The bold, open letterforms on this No. 2 are consistent with the earliest stylized W era.
Wagner Cast Iron (wagnercastiron.com/pages/story) — Official Wagner family history. Foundry founding, innovations, corporate ownership chain, foundry demolition 2023.
Panman.com — Cast Iron Size and Capacity Charts (David G. Smith). No. 2 standard dimensions: top diameter 5 7/8 in., bottom 4 3/4 in., depth 1 1/4 in.
Cast Iron Collector Forums — Wagner Ware Sidney -O- c/n marking 1052 thread. Confirms that a No. 2 with the four-digit catalog number 1052 is the less common variant and associated with the pie logo pattern; size-number-only No. 2 is the standard stylized logo configuration.
The Book of Griswold & Wagner (Wallaces-Homestead / Krause Publications) — Standard collector reference volume.
eBay acquisition record — Order No. 18-13869-39227, seller: mcna9695, November 24, 2025. Item: Wagner Ware Cast Iron #2 Cast Iron Skillet.
SSC Internal Collection Records — Wagner Ware Sidney -O- Complete Skillet Set documentation. SSC-WGNR-SKL-002 is the No. 2 representative in the full-run No. 0 through No. 14 display set; size-number-only stylized logo configuration documented as correct and consistent with c. 1922–1924 production.
About Steve’s Seasoned Classics
Steve’s Seasoned Classics is an online museum dedicated to preserving and documenting the heritage of American cast iron, with a focus on Ohio foundry pieces from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The SSC collection features over 130 pieces with detailed provenance, historical research, and photography for each item.
