What's Your Best Find That You Didn't Know What It Was Until You Cleaned It?

My experience with the one notch Lodge got me to thinking about your experiences. What was the piece you were most pleasantly surprised with after it was de-gunked? I'll hang up and listen.
 
Puritan 8. The first Puritan I've ever seen in person!!! There just are not a lot of them in my area so I was pleasantly surprised. And even better, after it was cleaned, it sits perfectly flat and has a beautiful cooking surface.
 
A Victor #8. Its a little pitted, but it was the first Victor I found. It was beyond cruddy, but it cleaned up pretty well.
 
I purchased 2 skillets that were so covered in crud I had no idea what they were. One turned out to be a Wagner Ware 1058 K. No sulfur pitting and flat. The other was a Puritan 8 F. Also had no sulfur pitting and flat. Paid $12.99 for both. Wish I could find more!
 
Probably the oldest and the cheapest a #2 little pot fully marked,Marietta Pa,it was covered with carbon,I couldn't see it is gate marked,came out on very good shape,a little sulfur pitting nothing major,the best part is I paid only $1 dlls
 
Mine is a BSR chicken fryer. Because it’s the only one I didn’t know what it was when I bought it. It was a gunky mess. It anything special, made in the 60’s. it it works great for sautéing peppers and onions. The high sides keep the groceries in better.
 
I have had some luck over the years. An Indian head here and there and several rare items but my best two were found in the same month

I found a terrible looking #8 cracked and pitted with the faintest signs of a raised circle on the back. Many before me had thrown it back on the junk pile but I took a chance, paid a kingly sum of $1. It did not clean up well, three cracks, and deep rust but there it was - an Erie spider pan and the spider was not completely destroyed.

Three weeks later I found a tea kettle with tons of wax covering the top and sides (someone used it for a candle stand). It had a large crack on the bottom but the porcelain knob and style of the #8 made me think it could be another holy grail Erie spider kettle. I paid $5 to find out. The wax peeled off surprisingly easy to reveal a perfect spider. Did not clean it at all looks great the way it is, sitting in my living room.

Unfortunately I have never topped those finds. There is always this season...
 
I recently purchased a very cruddy skillet. I thought it was a #8, But 3 days in the e tank revealed it as a #9 Wapak Z logo. Paid $10 for it.
 
A #4 Arch logo Lodge. It is still the only Arch Logo Lodge and the only #4 skillet that I own. Also at the time I didn’t know that #4 skillets were harder to come by. It was crusted up bad, paid $3.50 at a Faith Based thrift shop.
 
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