Wagner Cast Iron Value: Sidney Logos, Pie Logo and Magnalite

A Wagner Ware skillet marked SIDNEY -O- is usually worth about $35-90 as of October 2026 for the common #8 size in flat, uncracked condition, and pans made after 1959 without "Sidney" sell for about $20-45. The rarer pie logo pans and large sizes bring more: a pie logo #13 sold for $1,000 and a pie logo #14 for $550 at a February 2025 auction. Magnalite aluminum roasters sell for about $60-150.

Wagner made cookware in Sidney, Ohio, from 1891 until the plant closed in 1999, and turned out far more pans than Griswold. That is why most Wagners are priced as excellent cooking pans rather than rarities. The logo on the bottom dates the pan, the size and catalog numbers identify it, and a few scarce logos, sizes and specialty pieces carry collector prices. For Griswold, Wagner's old rival and later sister brand, see our Griswold cast iron value guide.

Quick answer

• Wagner Ware Sidney -O- #8 skillet, stylized logo: about $35-90; post-1959 Wagner without Sidney: about $20-45.
• Pie logo pans (about 1924 to 1934): roughly $75-200 in common sizes; a #13 sold for $1,000 and a #14 for $550 in 2025.
• Scarce Wagner pieces: #13 skillet $800, Krusty Korn pan $700, Drip Drop baster $550 at the same 2025 auction.
• Magnalite 4265 aluminum roaster with lid: about $60-150.

How to identify a Wagner pan, step by step

1. Turn it over and find the name. Wagner pans read WAGNER, WAGNER WARE, or WAGNER WARE SIDNEY -O-, where -O- stands for Ohio. Some carry only a size number and a catalog number, because Wagner also made pans for stores and catalogs.
2. Read the logo style. A plain arc of block letters reading WAGNER is the early arc logo. Large, flowing letters with an oversize W are the stylized logo, the most common Wagner mark. The stylized logo set inside a round border divided into wedge-shaped sections, like a sliced pie, often with CAST IRON SKILLET below, is the pie logo.
3. Check for SIDNEY -O-. The town was dropped from the logo after 1959, so a pan with SIDNEY -O- is older, and one without it but with the stylized logo is from 1959 or later.
4. Find the size number. The single or double digit size refers to old stove eye sizes. A #8 skillet is about 10.5 inches across the top.
5. Find the catalog number. Wagner skillets usually carry a four-digit catalog number, often with a letter after it, such as 1058 on a #8. The number confirms the piece and helps catch mismatched lids and fakes.
6. Look for a heat ring and where the logo sits. From about 1924 to 1935, Wagner put the logo at the center on sizes #4 to #8 with heat rings. Most later pans have smooth bottoms and the logo near the top.
7. Check it is sound. Set it on a flat counter and press each edge for a rock or spin, and look for hairline cracks at the rim and handle in strong light.
8. Price it by logo, size and condition with the tables below.

What do the Wagner logos mean, and how old is my pan?

These dates come from the Wagner trademark history published by Cast Iron Collector and the company history on Wikipedia. The eras overlap, and marks varied by size.

Stylized logo or pie logo: which is worth more?

The pie logo is scarcer and worth more. Cast Iron Collector notes it was used for at most about ten years, roughly 1924 to 1934, while the stylized logo ran from about 1922 to 1959 on millions of pans. A stylized logo #8 with SIDNEY -O- is a common, well-made pan worth about $35-90 depending on condition and whether it has been cleaned and seasoned. A pie logo pan of the same size sells for roughly twice that, and the large pie logo sizes are where Wagner reaches collector money: at the February 2025 Air Works auction reported by GriswoldCookware.com, a pie logo #13 with heat ring brought $1,000 and a pie logo #14 brought $550, hammer prices before buyer's premium.

What is Wagner cast iron worth?

Common-size values are typical sold prices for flat, uncracked pans as of October 2026, drawn from sold listings and restorers' prices, and should be checked against sold results for the same logo and catalog number. Rare pieces are 2025 auction hammer prices.

Wagner also made pans sold under other names, including National, Long Life and Wardway for Montgomery Ward. These are good pans, but without the Wagner name they sell for less, roughly $20-50.

How did Wagner and Griswold end up together?

Through a run of sales that every Wagner collector should know, because it explains the late marks. According to Wikipedia's company history, the Randall Company of Cincinnati bought Wagner in 1952, and in 1957 the Griswold brand and housewares line were sold to Wagner after McGraw-Edison bought Griswold. Textron bought both in 1959, then sold the Wagner and Griswold lines to General Housewares in 1969. That is why some pans from the early 1960s carry both names, and why late Griswold pans were cast in Sidney on Wagner patterns. The Sidney plant closed in 1999, and the trademarks passed to the American Culinary Corporation in 2000. A pan made in Sidney before 1959 is the one collectors want; the later marks are cooking pans.

What is Magnalite, and what is it worth?

Magnalite is Wagner's cast aluminum cookware, introduced in the early 1930s; Wikipedia credits its well-known teakettle (1933) and covered casserole (1934) to industrial designers John Gordon Rideout and Harold Van Doren, and Cast Iron Collector dates the line from 1934. It is light, heavy-walled and polished, with "WAGNER WARE SIDNEY -O- MAGNALITE" and a four-digit model number on the bottom; the oval 4265 roaster is the most sought-after piece, especially among cooks in Louisiana. Sold listings for a 4265 roaster with its lid typically run roughly $60-150, with the trivet and an undamaged lid at the top. Magnalite made later, after the Sidney plant closed, is worth less than Sidney-marked pieces. Never run Magnalite through a dishwasher: the detergent darkens and pits the aluminum.

Condition and what changes the price

A worked example

Say you find a 10.5-inch skillet at an estate sale. The bottom reads WAGNER WARE in flowing letters with a large W, SIDNEY -O- below, an 8 and the catalog number 1058 with a letter. The bottom is smooth, with no heat ring. That is a stylized logo #8 made before 1959. It sits flat, there are no cracks, and the cooking surface is smooth under some rust. Cleaned and seasoned it is worth about $35-90, most likely around $50-60. If the same pan had no SIDNEY -O-, it would be about $20-45. If the logo had been a round pie logo and the size a 13, it would be a pan to consign to a cast iron auction.

How to sell Wagner cast iron

Sort by the bottom. Post-1959 Wagners without SIDNEY ($20-45), GHC era pans ($15-35) and the National, Long Life and Wardway pans ($20-50) are cooking pans, and sell singly to cooks or as a small stack of everyday pans. Stylized logo pans with SIDNEY -O- in common sizes are worth listing one at a time. Treat as collector pieces: pie logo pans, early arc and WAGNER SIDNEY O. skillets, any #13 or #14, Krusty Korn pans, bundt pans, bakers, the Drip Drop baster and full matched sets.

Common pans sell well on general marketplaces and locally, since cast iron is heavy to ship. Magnalite roasters sell the same way, and many buyers are cooks in Louisiana. The rare pieces are worth showing to an experienced cast iron dealer or the Wagner and Griswold Society, and the rarest sell best at dedicated cast iron auctions.

A Wagner buyer wants to see:

• the bottom straight on, logo and numbers readable
• the catalog number close up
• the cooking surface lit from the side, to show pitting
• the pan on a flat counter at eye level, to show it sits flat
• the rim and handle joint close up
• for Magnalite, the lid, the inside and any trivet

Wrap the pan and box it with padding, since a dropped skillet can crack.

Say "spins" or "wobbles" when it does, declare any crack, and do not call a pan marked with "1891" in the brand name an 1891 casting. Keep a matched lid with its pan.

Common mistakes

• Pricing a common Wagner like a Griswold. Wagner made more pans, and the common stylized logo #8 sells for less than a Griswold of the same size and era.
• Missing the SIDNEY -O-. It is the single quickest test for an older Wagner.
• Taking a modern reissue for an 1891 pan. Pans marked with "1891" as part of a brand name are later reissues, not 1891 castings.
• Burning off old crust. Fire and self-cleaning ovens warp and crack cast iron. Use a lye bath or electrolysis instead.
• Putting Magnalite in the dishwasher. It darkens the aluminum and lowers the price.
• Selling a lid and pan apart. Matched lids are scarcer than pans, and a matched set sells better.

How WorthPic reads Wagner photos

WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From a straight-on photo of the bottom, it reads the logo style, whether SIDNEY -O- appears, the size and catalog numbers, any heat ring and where the logo sits, which together date a Wagner piece and identify it. On Magnalite it reads the model number and looks for darkening, dents and the lid. It then gives an honest value range for that logo, size and condition, with a most likely figure. What it cannot know from a photo is whether a pan sits flat or has a hairline crack under the seasoning, so it asks for a side photo on a flat counter. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.

What to photograph

• The bottom straight on, in even light, with the logo and numbers readable.
• The catalog number close up.
• The cooking surface, lit from the side to show pitting.
• The pan on a flat counter at eye level, to show whether it is flat.
• The rim and handle joint, close up.
• For Magnalite, the lid and the inside, with any trivet.

When to get it looked at in person

Most Wagner pans need no expert; a sold-listing search for the same logo and catalog number settles them. Pie logo pans in large sizes, any #13 or #14, early arc and Sidney O. pieces, unusual pieces such as Krusty Korn pans, bundt pans and bakers, and full matched sets are worth showing to an experienced cast iron dealer or the Wagner and Griswold Society, whose members research and buy these pieces. The Book of Griswold & Wagner by David G. Smith and Chuck Wafford is the standard reference. The rarest pieces sell best at dedicated cast iron auctions. For other kitchen finds, see our guides to old cast iron skillets, vintage Le Creuset, CorningWare and enamelware. For the wider picture of how collectibles are valued, from cookware to tools and advertising, see the category page.

Sources

• Cast Iron Collector: The Wagner Trademark: logo eras and years, the pie logo period, centered logos with heat rings, and the removal of SIDNEY -O- after 1959.
• Cast Iron Collector: Wagner Manufacturing Co. history: the 1891 founding, Wagner brand names and the 1934 Magnalite launch.
• Wikipedia: Wagner Manufacturing Company: founders, ownership changes, the Magnalite designers and the 1999 plant closing.
• GriswoldCookware.com: Top prices realized at the Air Works auction, February 2025: hammer prices for the pie logo #13 and #14, the Wagner #13, Krusty Korn pan and Drip Drop baster.
• Wagner and Griswold Society: the collectors' club for Wagner and Griswold cookware.