Pot O Gold ???

[Texas Kid]

Not to awful long ago I was using my Ol' Bounty Hunter, not to far from the Santa Fe Trail in New Mexico, and had a little bit of a stint polishing experience. I had been hunting about and hour when my machine started ringing up a great signal. I felt my blood pressure jack up about nine notches, because I was in an area where there was no trash and really not much of any kind of anything. Well the dig was on and the deeper I got the more excited I was! As you can see in this group of pictures how the dig progressed. My heart stopped 23 times when I unearthed a edge of a large disk which just looked like the lid to a pot of gold! I was diggin' that dirt like a badger after a field rat! As you can see I though. Well you can see I found the lid but the pot of gold is still out there some where.LOL!!! When I pulled that lid up and no gold, my blood pressure dropped so fast it knocked my boots off! It wound up being a lid to some ol' sheep herders dutch oven. Knowing the history of the area I was hunting it could have been a hundred and fifty years old or more. Not much in treasure, but lots of excitement!! Enjoy! The Kid
Not in the exact order but you get the drift !!!

 

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[Msbeepbeep]

Dude, the excitement is what it is ALL about! We KNOW what is out there, that's why we hunt! The what ifs, the maybes ...the one in a life time find! The. Best part! It is possible and we are all equal in the race! GO FOR IT!!! And best if luck! Post those pics! I sincerely hope you find it!

 

[Doc Arey]

 

[dixie bee]

That looks like the lid to a dutch oven, is it cast iron?
Is there a name on it? Even though the handle is broke, if it is a dutch oven lid, it could still be worth a fair amount depending on size and brand, and year.

 

[treblehunter]

Just in case you haven't done it yet, you should grid off that area around the lid, about the size of a basketball court. Could be something small hiding in there? Good luck, nice lid, I know your excitement!

 

[Texas Kid]

Thanks for the boost!!

 

[g-olden years]

Fun to the max reading this adventure! Texas Kid, you have definitely already found a huge treasure -- your writing ability! You're able to create a quick scenario that keeps the reader panting for more! If you're not already earning some bucks as a writer online or off, consider it! And good luck on your detecting gold hunts too! Andi

 

[Texas Kid]

That looks like the lid to a dutch oven, is it cast iron?
Is there a name on it? Even though the handle is broke, if it is a dutch oven lid, it could still be worth a fair amount depending on size and brand, and year.

It is cast! That is all I know. I will look it over and I will get back to you if I find any info! It would be fun to date this rascal! Can you help?

 

[Texas Kid]

Fun to the max reading this adventure! Texas Kid, you have definitely already found a huge treasure -- your writing ability! You're able to create a quick scenario that keeps the reader panting for more! If you're not already earning some bucks as a writer online or off, consider it! And good luck on your detecting gold hunts too! Andi

Hey Andi thanks for the compliment! I love this sport and I guess I get a little carried away when I try to tell about a hunt.You have an awesome Holiday and thanks again!! The Kid ps If I find that gold Andi I will write a story that will make "War and Peace" look like a dime novel!!!!LOL!!

 

[Texas Kid]

Just in case you haven't done it yet, you should grid off that area around the lid, about the size of a basketball court. Could be something small hiding in there? Good luck, nice lid, I know your excitement!

Thanks for the tip ! That sounds like a game plan! That is exactly why I love this site. So many different and new ideas!! have a super holiday!! Thanks again!!

 

[dixie bee]

It is cast! That is all I know. I will look it over and I will get back to you if I find any info! It would be fun to date this rascal! Can you help?

The more valuable ones will be made by Griswald, Wagner Ware, Wapak, and some of the older Lodge.
Most of the older ones will have a patent date on them. And maybe a number.
Example a 10 inch skillet made by Wagner will be a number 8, the 8 will be on the top of the handle, the bottom of the skillet will say Wagner or Wagner Ware in some form depending on year of manufacture. A number 8 will also say 1058 on the bottom near the handle. You would also see Sidney, Ohio, or Sidney -O-, or just Sidney, there again, depending on year of manufacture.
Depending on manufacturer, lids are different, sometimes all info is on the underside, sometimes a makers name on the outside and number on the inside.
I use to avidly collect cast iron cookware, but quit really seeking it out a few years ago and have forgotten a lot of what use to be common knowledge to me. I still have well over a hundred pieces dating back to the 1890s, and somewhere i still have a couple books, so if you can find any markings, and get some measurements, I can probably help you identify it.

Oh, and lids are many times more valuable than the pot or skillet they went on just due to the fact they could crack easier so not as many older ones are still around, and because less were produced. I have a set from the 1930s-1940s that consists of a 10 inch dutch oven, 10 inch skillet, and 10 inch deep skillet (chicken pan), and a lid. The same lid fits all 3 pans.

 

[Texas Kid]

Ok thanks I will see what info I can glean and get right back to ya! Thanks Dixie Bee for all the hints!!!

 

[Texas Kid]

The more valuable ones will be made by Griswald, Wagner Ware, Wapak, and some of the older Lodge.
Most of the older ones will have a patent date on them. And maybe a number.
Example a 10 inch skillet made by Wagner will be a number 8, the 8 will be on the top of the handle, the bottom of the skillet will say Wagner or Wagner Ware in some form depending on year of manufacture. A number 8 will also say 1058 on the bottom near the handle. You would also see Sidney, Ohio, or Sidney -O-, or just Sidney, there again, depending on year of manufacture.
Depending on manufacturer, lids are different, sometimes all info is on the underside, sometimes a makers name on the outside and number on the inside.
I use to avidly collect cast iron cookware, but quit really seeking it out a few years ago and have forgotten a lot of what use to be common knowledge to me. I still have well over a hundred pieces dating back to the 1890s, and somewhere i still have a couple books, so if you can find any markings, and get some measurements, I can probably help you identify it.

Oh, and lids are many times more valuable than the pot or skillet they went on just due to the fact they could crack easier so not as many older ones are still around, and because less were produced. I have a set from the 1930s-1940s that consists of a 10 inch dutch oven, 10 inch skillet, and 10 inch deep skillet (chicken pan), and a lid. The same lid fits all 3 pans.

Dixie Bee, First of thanks a million for your offer to help me date this cast lid. I hope that I can provide enough info to help!! I am sending pictures of what I was able to find. The Chinese looking design looks like it was deliberately cast into the metal. I marked it with white chalk! I found no other writing on the lid other the number 86. next to the design. On the top side is the number twelve and maybe a small number eight at the opposite side. I certainly hope this is what you need. I'm all fired up to find out what you think. Once again I really appreciate your time and effort on this little project as I do not want to impose on your valuable time. Thanks again !! the Kid

 

[dixie bee]

Hmmm, well i have potentially bad news. I dont recognize the lid. I will say some of the detail is very nice on the top. I don't think it is more than 25-30 years old, and likely chinese in origin. The poor mold surface only makes me more inclined to think it is a chinese import. Any reputable manufacturer would want their name on it, and wouldnt allow that peticular lid to leave the foundry. The marking on the underside is likely from the mold pattern, it has probably been damaged and repaired, but not very well.
Anything on the pattern will be made into the sand mold, and into the finished part.

I'm sorry I can't offer any more info, and i could possibly be wrong, but of the literally 1000s of cast iron cookware pieces i have seen and held, I have never come across one like that before.

 

[rodarian]

That may have sent me into fib. Cool find, none the less.

 

[Texas Kid]

HAHAHAHA! Dang It! I was hoping for a little better news,but it is what its is!! You should have seen me diggin that thing up !! You would have laughed yourself to death!! Im glad nobody else was around filmin; that!! They would have carted me off to me off to the nut house!!!! Anyway !Thanks a million and you have an Awesome Christmas and a better NEW YEAR!!

 

[Pointman]

I cook almost exclusively in cast iron. The lid like that would be sought after for use, but I am unsure how much due to the handle being broken. Some pots are designed to be "dutch ovens" but they don't work as such because there isn't a recessed lid like that, so I feel that if someone had one of those deep skillets they may want a proper lid for it.

On skillets they are numbered and I think that the numbers represent the size (I believe they go by diameter) of your oven lid. Neat thing about cast iron, it can be 200 years old but they have to go through a lot of ground action and corrosion to render them useless. You could pretty much clean up and season anything cast iron and make it better than it was new.

 

[Edmundruffin]

Wow! What you have is a spider skillet lid. A turn of the century dutch oven lid that set atop a long handled, three legged skillet. It is a 12 inch lid, made before cast iron stoves, where the women cooked with coals above and beneath the skillet in an open hearth. As to the manufacturer, they are very difficult to nail down. The bottom of the lid has a gate mark or the slash on the bottom tends to place it in the late 1800's to very early 1900's. This is the point where the iron was poured into the mould to form the lid. The numbers you have outlined, is the foundry mark, representing whom ever poured the piece. I suspect you have a Blacklock Spider Skillet Lid, (I may be wrong without seeing or holding it.) From South Pittsburg, Tennessee, which burned in 1896 and was revived into the Lodge Cast Iron Company. This is my second or third love, collecting old cast iron from Tennessee. Check EBay, under spider skillets to see your lid. Skillets are a dime a dozen, lids are a $100 a dozen, meaning they are rare. Great Find!

 

[RobRieman]

Here's a couple examples:

 

[dixie bee]

Wow, perhaps I was mistaken. My appilogies.
I am not familliar with any unmarked manufacturers.
It wasnt my intention to be misleading in any way, the information I was offering came only from my personal experience in collecting CI and from the colllector books in which i have owned and read.