There’s a cast-iron skillet sitting in someone’s barn in rural Indiana right now that could easily pay a car insurance bill for a year. Maybe two. What was once just grandma’s old cooking pan has become a full-blown collectible market with bidding wars, dedicated auction houses, and eBay listings that look more like fine art than kitchen equipment. Vintage cast iron has exploded in value, and the numbers coming out of recent auctions prove this isn’t a passing trend.
A Market That’s Heating Up Fast
Cast iron skillets have long been a treasured tool in the kitchen, valued by both collectors and home chefs for their quality craftsmanship and durability – and some of these vintage pieces fetch high sums, ranging from the high hundreds to even thousands of dollars. The global market behind it all tells a similar story of growth. According to Research and Markets, the cast iron cookware market is forecast to grow from $2.30 billion in 2024 to $3.64 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of nearly 8%.
Cast iron skillets saw a significant surge in search interest, peaking in December 2024, driven by consumer preference for durable, versatile, and healthier cooking alternatives. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated market growth as home cooking surged during lockdowns, and the trend has sustained through 2025 as people continue prioritizing home-cooked meals. That steady domestic interest feeds both the new cookware segment and the vintage resale market simultaneously, keeping demand strong across the board.
Record Prices at Auction: When a Skillet Sells for $10,000
The highest price realized over two auction days in August 2024 was $10,000 for a Griswold ERIE spider skillet. Next in line was an antique Griswold number 1 cast iron skillet, pattern number 411, that sold for $9,500. These weren’t anomalies. A Griswold-made waffle iron display rack also sold for $9,000 at the same cast iron collector’s auction in Indiana on August 24, 2024.
Almost 1,000 pieces of vintage cast iron cookware were auctioned on August 23-24, 2024, at Dinky’s auction house in Montgomery, Indiana, with about 85% of the 1,029 lots sourced from the collection of Louisiana collectors Eric McAllister and Clayton Mitchell. The sheer scale of these events signals that this is no fringe hobby. A large two-day cast iron collector’s auction was also held on November 13 and 14, 2025 at Dinky’s Auction Center in Montgomery, Indiana, with pieces primarily from several long-time collectors.
eBay and the Online Resale Frenzy
In December 2024, a vintage Griswold #14 skillet with a front-pour spot sold for $3,249 on eBay, and a #13 with a slant logo sold for $2,799.99. Those aren’t one-off flukes either. A vintage Lodge #12 skillet sold for $1,280, while a vintage Wagner Ware #13 skillet sold for $949 in November 2024.
In August 2024, one Griswold spider skillet, also stamped with an all-caps “ERIE” for where the company was founded, sold for $10,000 at auction. Online platforms have made price discovery dramatically easier for both buyers and sellers. Age, scarcity, the precise markings on the pan, current demand, timing, the reputation of the seller, and condition are all reflected in what a person will reasonably pay – and a piece that might have sold for $500 a few years back might sell today for twice that amount.
The Brands That Drive the Big Numbers
By the mid- to late 1800s, three leading American manufacturers of cast iron cookware had emerged: Griswold Manufacturing from Erie, PA, Wagner Manufacturing from Sidney, OH, and Lodge Manufacturing from South Pittsburg, TN. While these brand names may be recognizable to even non-collectors today, they certainly cause collectors of heirloom skillets to pay up. Griswold consistently leads the pack in terms of collector desire. A 12.25-inch Griswold skillet from its early years of production, featuring the early “ERIE” logo and spider heat ring, is extremely rare and valuable, with fewer than 200 still in circulation – and collectors have been known to pay close to $2,000 for one.
The Wapak Hollow Ware Co. also produced skillets renowned for their distinctive logo featuring a Native American chief with feathered headdress detailing. Their unique branding and limited production make them sought-after by collectors, with prices ranging from around $200 to over $1,200. Lodge entered the collectible auction arena in a meaningful way recently. Lodge held its first-ever cast iron auction at its South Pittsburg, Tennessee home base on August 10, 2024, auctioning off limited production and prototype pieces made over the years. The high price at that event was $4,100, paid for the Grateful Dead “Steal Your Face” skillet, with the “Alabama” skillet coming in second at $900.
How Logos, Markings, and Rarity Determine Value
Logos often changed throughout the years and are a great indicator of the age of cast iron. For example, there are two Griswold logos – a newer one about 2 inches wide and an older logo much larger at 4 inches wide. The new pans with the small logo don’t carry real collectible value yet, while the old logo pans can fetch a pretty penny. Knowing the difference can mean hundreds – or thousands – of dollars at sale time. The most desirable pan is the Griswold #1, which is super rare and worth $1,000 each despite its small size, while sizes #2, 11, 13, and 20 are not as rare but rare enough to be quite valuable.
The production of domestic cast iron ware after around 1957 varies from reasonably good to very poor in terms of finish quality regardless of whose name is on it, meaning the cast iron that truly qualifies as “vintage” and collectible falls in the range of at least 65 or more years old. Condition matters enormously in this market too. Skillets that have an original Griswold label attached command an additional premium, especially in new condition. Vintage cast iron is so valuable that there are a lot of fake pieces in the market, making authentication skills a core part of collecting.
Where Collectors Hunt, Connect, and Spend
There are several sources from which vintage cast iron ware may be obtained, including garage and estate sales, flea markets, antique stores, thrift stores, online classifieds, and auction websites. The collector community has grown well beyond casual hobbyists. The Griswold and Cast Iron Cookware Association is a vibrant community of vintage cast iron collectors and enthusiasts united by a shared passion for collectible cast iron cookware, with membership including those just starting their journey as well as seasoned collectors with huge collections.
David G. Smith, known as “The Pan Man,” is both a collector and dealer of cast iron cookware who has been collecting for over 30 years, and at one point had more than 20,000 pieces in his collection. Restoration has become its own cottage industry within the hobby. Cast and Clara Bell is a family-run small business dedicated to restoring the beauty and performance of vintage cast iron cookware, specializing in fully restored, ready-to-cook pieces from historic American foundries including Griswold, Wagner, Erie and Lodge, with every item rescued, cleaned, refinished and seasoned by hand. Online, the selection is remarkable, but for popular cast iron cookware buyers may end up paying a premium, with quite a few Etsy storefronts offering vintage cast iron.