Tite Top DO value. Pal just sent me photos.

[David Whitten]

Not the best photos but hopefully enough to go on.  What is it's value range?  I might go get it.  Thanks for your thoughts!  Previously I asked what it was worth to you but I meant to ask what it's value range is.  I have not spent a lot of time looking at DO's.  I'd want a slant erie so this one is interesting to me.  DO fanatics, where does this fit in the scheme of things?  How do I know the lid and the bottom go together?

[Rick Gilley]

That is an old one....I am going to defer on the price as others are more knowledgeable on Griswold.

[Claudia Killebrew]

That is a nice old one. The question is, though, not what it's worth to any of us, but what is it worth to you? How much do you want it?

[Adam Hoagland]

[size=12]Personally, I've seen Dutch Ovens, even more common sizes like this #8, sell for two or three times what they're listed at in price guides.  I haven't been able to touch #8 and #9 Dutch Ovens at auction, for that reason.  I concur with others that it's a matter of what you think it's worth, since it's your wallet, but I'd say that this price ($75) is slightly high compared to the list price, but a bargin compared to what they've been selling for lately at auctions I've been to (and what many vendors at antique malls seem to think they're worth.)  Especially if there's a Griswold trivet hiding inside there.

Provided, of course, that it's warp- and crack-free, and isn't pitted like Mare Tranquilitatis on the inside.[/size]

[David Whitten]

I just was told by my pal that the inside is flawless so I'm heading over in the morning to see it.  I've never bought a DO having focused mainly on skillets and one great deal on a pair of ERIE eccentric kettles.  Thinking this might be a Christmas present for my wife.  That solves two problems right there.  No trivet.  How can I tell if this is an original lid and bottom set?

[C. Perry Rapier]

I just was told by my pal that the inside is flawless so I'm heading over in the morning to see it.  I've never bought a DO having focused mainly on skillets and one great deal on a pair of ERIE eccentric kettles.  Thinking this might be a Christmas present for my wife.  That solves two problems right there.  No trivet.  How can I tell if this is an original lid and bottom set?

I'd say you probably can't tell if its an original lid and bottom set. Griswold mixed and matched them for their orders all the time. If they shipped a number eight dutch oven, all they needed to send was a top and a bottom and it was good to go.

Griswold is good for matching lids and bottoms up, Wagner will make you pull your hair out. For instance a Griswold number 8 skillet cover will fit number eight regular skillets, its that simple, no so with Wagner.

I started collecting DO's a long time ago and have several and still buying them, my latest just yesterday.

From what I see of the DO in question here, it looks to be in pristine condition. If I wanted a number eight Griswold DO, I'd jump all over that for seventy-five dollars.

If you wait around and look and look and search, you can probably find one for a few dollars less, but I don't think you are going to find one much better than this one, IF, you find one better, especially since your friend said the inside is so good.

My problem is, on some things anyway, I have the pristine pieces for show and the dogs I cook in. If I had this piece I think I'd make it pristine and set it on a shelf, and then go buy me a Wagner DO for way less, and cook in it.  ;D

[C. B. Williams]

I really like Perry's statement, " I have several dutch ovens" .  Just don't go there and think you can haul them off in a half ton pickup. C B

[Adam Hoagland]

[size=12]With respect to the lid matching the bottom, I'd say that you have no worries there.  There are exceptions, but the word "Baster" on the lid usually matches the slant EPU logo on the bottom.  ("Matched" sets with the block EPU logo usually say "Tite Top Dutch Oven" on the top, rather than "Baster.")  I have a #9 that looks the same, but the inside is less than pristine.  Flip the lid over, and you'll probably find that same slant logo underneath, inside the basting rings.

I can't guarantee that this lid and this oven were sold at the exact same time as a unit, and it's true that Griswold did mix and match as needed, but from the markings I'd say that these two constitute a matched set.  [/size]

[C. Perry Rapier]

I really like Perry's statement, " I have several dutch ovens" .  Just don't go there and think you can haul them off in a half ton pickup. C B

Hello C.B. You got me laughing here. And thats a good thing my friend.  :)

[David Whitten]

Thank you all for the in depth analysis!!  I'm going over to the shop tomorrow and will likely buy this as a present for my wife.  Our Her first DO.  :D  If it comes home I'll add some photos to this posting.  Thanks again!!
UPDATE:  It is in good shape.  I did not buy it yet.  I need to set up an electrolysis tank.  It was spay painted black on the outside over rust.  Thinking about it.

[Larry Pesek]

Spray Painted!?!???   :-?  Sheeeesshhh....

I'm late coming in on this thread, but I was thinking as I was reading it how it all comes down to the condition and rarity of the piece at hand as far as value goes. 
We all have seen how Cast Iron pricing is affected by the internet, but it still comes down to supply & demand...  ;)