947 Golfball Gem Pan

[Tim Bister]

Picked this up at estate sale for $25.  Is it a Griswold 947?  What's it worth?  Thanks!

[Adam Hoagland]

[size=12]It's much easier to answer the first question.  Yes, it is a Griswold-made 947 golfball pan.  I have one just like it, and I think that it's the commonest of all the variations of 947, according to the yellow book.

Worth?  Boy, I hate to guess.  Muffin pans have taken a dive in the deep end since the aforementioned yellow book came out, and whenever I try to take that into account, I still wind up usually guessing high.  Condition matters a lot, and from your photos it looks like it might be a tad rough.

I'll toss a number out and take cover; providing that it's not cracked anywhere or warped, $40 to $50 in today's market.  But that's to a collector that knows what it is from p/n alone, because I don't think it's marked by name anywhere.  At $25, I'd say that, if it's in nice shape, your deal was OK, but not legendary.[/size]

[Tom Neitzel]

There are some knockoffs of this pan.  I do have one, I'll see if I can find it and give you a measurement.  The pattern number on yours looks a lot like mine, kind of weak.  The pan is smaller (a recast) than an original.  Let's see if I can find it.

[Tom Neitzel]

I can't believe it, the pan was where I thought it was!

Yours does look a little better.

Measuring the length, from outside edge of handle to outside edge, 10 1/4".

Average width, outside edges, 6 7/8".

A genuine pan should have dimensions significantly larger than these.

Tom

[Tim Bister]

Hmmm well my pan measures 10 1/2 from outside edge of handles. Width is 7 1/8. Maybe that's enough larger to be the real thing?

[Tom Neitzel]

You bet.  A rough rule of thumb is that a recast will be about 1/4" per foot shorter than the original.  Assuming they used an original as a pattern.  Patterns are made larger than the actual piece to allow for shrinkage of the metal as it cools.  More for aluminum, less for iron.  The pattern makers even had special rulers that allowed for that.

[Tim Bister]

Thanks Tom. I'm sure I have a lot to learn.