The Old Skillet That Looks Cheap but Is Secretly Cast Iron

A silvery old skillet tends to get passed over at estate sales, usually because it doesn’t look like the vintage cast iron people expect to find. Some of those pans came out of the same foundries as the black ones, finished in a way that most seasoning guides never mention. The story runs from the eighteen nineties into the war years, and the clue that gives these pans away sits somewhere most buyers never think to look. Chapters 0:00 The mysterious silver skillet 0:59 Iron, plating, and seasoning 2:22 Why foundries plated cookware 6:17 What the finish cannot prove 7:40 Originality, wear, and value 8:30 Restoration risks to plating 8:53 How to inspect silver skillets Sources and further reading This video covers the design history of plated cast-iron cookware and is not cleaning, restoration or valuation advice. For a pan with an unknown coating, consult an experienced cast-iron restorer or antiques conservator before treating it. COLLECTOR REFERENCES The Cast Iron Collector, Plated Finish Ware: nickel and chrome plating dates, Wagner Silverlite, Griswold Silverlike and Du Chro, wear and value notes https://castironcollector.com/plated.php The Cast Iron Collector, Wagner Manufacturing Co.: Wagner company timeline, including nickel ware in 1892 and cast aluminum in 1894 https://castironcollector.com/wagner.php The Cast Iron Collector, Cast Iron Finishing: how foundries tumbled and polish-ground cookware https://www.castironcollector.com/finishin... MANUFACTURER AND LOCAL HISTORY Wagner Cast Iron, Our Story: the current company’s history of Wagner, including the grinding and buffing behind nickel-plated iron https://wagnercastiron.com/pages/story Shelby County Historical Society, Wagner Manufacturing Company: Wagner’s history in Sidney, Ohio, and its early cast aluminum ware https://www.shelbycountyhistory.org/schs/i... Lodge Cast Iron, All About Seasoning: what seasoning is and how it forms https://lodgecastiron.com/discover/cleanin... PLATING HISTORY Products Finishing, History of Chromium Plating: development of commercial chrome plating at Columbia University in the 1920s https://www.pfonline.com/articles/history-... Art Deco Society of New York, Plate Like Chrome: chrome plating’s 1924 commercial start and its spread through 1930s households https://www.artdeco.org/plate-like-chrome #NickelPlatedCastIron #WagnerCastIron #GriswoldCastIron #VintageCastIron #CastIron