Made in Colombia?

[Russell Ware]

To all the other gem pan fanatics out there, this pan may look familiar. There always seems to be at least 3 of these posted on ebay at any given time. But take a look at the bottom of those. They will state, "China," "Made In China," "Taiwan" or "Made in Taiwan."
Well, mine says made in Colombia! I know I've had some bad luck with south of the border cast iron (my tortilla press post is lost on the old forum somewhere), but I figured I'd give South America a shot. The pan is well cast, but had an odd gray color prior to seasoning it. We'll see how well it bakes. Who can find another one? And, if it was made in Colombia, could one have been made in the USA?

[James Mummert]

Russell
I have a muffin pan with the original label. It is unusual because it does not say Wilton or  Pa., though it is made in Columbia Pa. I bought mine in an antique shop in Columbia Pa. It is light weight grey iron and smooth, so it should bake well for you!
The Valley Forge is a clue that it is Pa. product.
James

[Frank Dimos]

Maybe Russell is from NYC--New Yorkers believe anything south of the Jersey line is south of the border :) My best friend is from Long Island and he thinks anything outside of NYC is another country!

[Russell Ware]

The problem I have is that the city in PA is spelled Columbia. The pan in question here as well as the paper label posted are clearly marked Colombia, as in the country. At least that's my take on it.

[Tom Neitzel]

I did a quick Google search to see if I could find any information about National Silver Co.  No real luck, but I did find a couple newspaper ads.  Milwaukee Journal, p. 13, 11/28/75, and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, p. 12, 5/4/77.  A department store in Milwaukee, Pay N Save in Fairbanks (a hardware, kinda everything else store).  Selling cast iron sets for around $30.00.  The Pioneer line.

Seems they were active in the mid-70's.  Not a clue as to where they were made, although the picture in the Milwaukee paper has a lid on a saucepan that looks BS&R.

I'm leaning more toward Russell in the opinion that the Columbia is indeed the South American place.

Tom