Did I get bamboozled??

DanaL

New member
Hello CI community ! I'm still quite new to all things cast iron, but I feel an obsession brewing : ) A couple weeks ago, I was at that "biggie" flea market in Massachusetts (don't want to name drop in case it's not kosher to do so in the forum!). I came across a beautiful (i.m.o.) oval Wagner Ware roaster w/lid, and of course had to have it. It was at the end of the day, so the vendor was selling everything in his tent for 50% off, putting the roaster at $60. I went back FOUR separate times to dicker, but he wouldn't budge any lower on the price. I made the purchase, but when I got home I noticed that the Wagner logo on the underside of the lid is a completely different style that the Wagner logo on the bottom of the roaster itself. Did I get bamboozled here??? Some pics attached...

Thank you in advance for any feedback anyone can give !
 

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No, I wouldn't say bamboozled. Wagner's (or any other's for that matter) trademarks were not necessarily all changed on all patterns simultaneously. The lid you have there is of a later date than the one with the raised letters and stylized logo on the top. But it doesn't mean that this lid didn't come with this pan. If your pan has the c/n on the bottom matching the one on the lid, it probably did. The likelihood of an oval roaster being a marriage rather than a match are lower than that of, say, a #8 regular DO. Collectors covet the full writing top version lids more, but I don't think $60 was necessarily out of line on this one. I probably wouldn't have given the full $120 for it, though.
 
Hi, DanaL. I hope you come to like CI as much as the rest of us! If I had cash in hand I'd have bought the roaster for $60.00. I have an unmarked Wagner Dutch oven that I use a lot, and your roaster looks equally useful to me. I also see why DougD said $120.00 is more than he'd want to pay. This one seems more a user than a collectible to me, but it is certainly an attractive item. (I seem to be hung up on Wagner design.) Good hunting!
 
Doug and Sharon, thank you so much for your valuable input and quick responses ! I would certainly put myself under the "CI user" vs. "CI collector" at this point...with a goal of reaching a combined "CI user AND collector" status on day : ) This input is helping me along my way.

I'm glad at least two experts validated my purchase as a reasonable one, and that i'll get good use out of this DO! My thoughts at the time were, you can barely touch a knock-off Le Creuset DO for that price (which I've been coveting as well! haha)...at least I get all the charm and quality of a cast iron piece, and that's worth every penny!

Thanks again - Cheers !

---------- Post added at 03:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:55 PM ----------

Oh, and Doug - to answer your question...I assume the "c/n" is that 1285 number? If so, then yes the bottom of the roaster also reflects that same number that's on the lid (it's harder to see with all the crud build up on the bottom). YAY ! i think that's even better news then : )

THANKS!
 
Yes, c/n is catalog number. The older full writing version lids also had the zig-zag basting elements. This later, ring top version only has the scalloped basting rings. Later skillet patterns also show the "stamped" looking markings, stamped in the pattern, of course.
 
I think it's a great buy personally...look on ebay and it's hard to find a roaster for less then $200...maybe the seller didn't truly know what he had???
 
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