Unmarked #8 Dutch Oven

[Valerie Johnson]

Picked up this dutch oven base yesterday, No lid or trivet but the price was right, Nice smooth interior and thin side walls it has a number 8 on bottom nothing else that I can see until it goes in the lye tank, The tabs where  the metal wire bail handle connect have a rounded recess on each side where the wire bail folds down into, I have looked at other dutch ovens and to me it looks like an older Wagner Ware. I will post some more pics once it comes out of the lye dip

[Adam Hoagland]

[size=12]I might just be seeing castles in clouds and saints in my soup, but I about half think that I can see the two "E"s of the word "ERIE" in the right spot on the bottom of your DO.  Between the crud and the angle of the photograph, I can't have a whole lot of confidence, but I about half think I see it.[/size]

[Valerie Johnson]

Hi Adam,
I have looked at under 10x magnification and I can't see anything, hopefully something will be under the crud but I'm not counting on it.

[Valerie Johnson]

OK, Out of the lye and this is what we can see, The number 8 has a dot after it and at the top(12 o:clock position on bottom) I can see the letter W and several other letters after that but they are basically unreadable, But here is the thing, The letter W is not impressed into the bottom it is raised. I have included some pics I don't know how see able it is though. The first pics are from the top with close ups of the bail ears, to me they def look Wagner just do not know from what era

[Valerie Johnson]

And now for the bottom views

[Valerie Johnson]

and some of the number 8.
There is definitely something written on the bottom it is just very hard to read.

My guess is still Wagner.
This piece cleaned up very nicely, The interior cooking surface is like a piece of glass

Measures 10 1/4" across top and is 4 1/4" high

[Joseph Sayler]

We raised W looks like a ghost mark to me. I'm guessing it was cast off a wagner copy mould. I have a wapak skillet with very similar ghost mark.