Anybody know what this is?

J

JHays

New member
Picked this up from a guy for $25. Lid fits nice and snug. inside of lid says 13 1/2" #12, bottom says Made in U.S.A. there is an interesting symbol inside the bottom of pot, it is a circle with several horizontal lines inside of it...anyone know who made this and what size it is? How much is it worth? I plan on restoring it and making lots of gumbo with it!
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Picture of symbol.
 
If it's on the inside, I think it would be some kind of time-of-casting abnormality, perhaps made when the mold was created, and not actually a pattern marking. The markings you describe on the bottom, plus the overall appearance of the pan and lid point to Birmingham Stove & Range Co., after the mid-1960s. I assume the inside of the lid has an array of dimples?
 
Doug D. said:
If it's on the inside, I think it would be some kind of time-of-casting abnormality, perhaps made when the mold was created, and not actually a pattern marking. The markings you describe on the bottom, plus the overall appearance of the pan and lid point to Birmingham Stove & Range Co., after the mid-1960s. I assume the inside of the lid has an array of dimples?
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Yes, it has small dimples more toward the center of the lid and not to the entire surface area. So did I do ok with $25...I got it for a gumbo pot. How many quarts is this?
 
A #12 anything in good condition is worth at least $25. A #12 DO should be about 9 quarts. That mark also might have something to do with the process of the pot being broken out of the sand mold after casting. By the mid-1960s, BSR was using automated molding lines.
 
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Unbelievable how oven cleaner treatment and vinegar completely clean a pot and make it look brand new! I don't have any 'after' pics but I did two applications of oven cleaner for two days and rinsed with water real good between treatments. After the oven cleaner I put the pot in a large container and used straight vinegar with a stainless steel scour and after a thourough 20 minute scrub fest rinsed with water and dried. I hit the pot with a final treatment with 0000 steel wool. Came inside to the sink rinsed with water and used a 3M plastic scour pad to make sure it was clean. It started immediatley flash rusting on me due to the high humidity in the air. I put it in 450 degree oven, once it pre heated took it to garage and painted crisco on all surfaces...absolutely beautiful! For whatever reason I repeated the seasoning process three times to include one with bacon grease...which I wish I had done the first treatment...each time wiping off excess and putting in oven to cook in and rest. Cooked my first pot of gumbo in it and all is well! noticed that on all surfaces of the pot moisture just beads up and its got a nice seasoning layer on it!
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I saw a circle like that on a Dutch Oven. And I am restoring a roaster for a lady marked 3060 and has two of those circles on the cooking surface. It’s got to be intentional in my opinion.
 
Same marks you find on several BSR Century Series pieces. Most commonly seen in larger pieces that I've seen such as my deep fryer.
 
Those circles with lines are vent marks. They’re typically only on larger pieces like roasters and Dutch ovens. I put that out recently on the Lodge and BSR group on FB and got several replies.
 
BobL said:
Those circles with lines are vent marks. They’re typically only on larger pieces like roasters and Dutch ovens. I put that out recently on the Lodge and BSR group on FB and got several replies.
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My familiarity with the term vent mark is admittedly limited, but if I understand the function correctly, I would expect it to appear on the outside bottom of the pot not the inside (the orientation being upside down during the pour), and to possibly show some evidence of excess iron exiting the vent having been ground off.
 
I agree that it seems like a strange location for a vent and should show some signs of grinding. I always assumed side gated pieces were poured in a more vertical position and if a vent was needed why not add one along an edge like the gate where any excess iron could be easily ground off. :icon_scratchchin:
 
Doug D. said:
My familiarity with the term vent mark is admittedly limited, but if I understand the function correctly, I would expect it to appear on the outside bottom of the pot not the inside (the orientation being upside down during the pour), and to possibly show some evidence of excess iron exiting the vent having been ground off.
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I'm not sure what caused them, but both of my deep fryers have them and the #10 Century DO I picked up last week has one as well. They are all on the inside surface.
 
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