Bought on Ebay on Nov. 27, 2013 for $20.00 with shipping for $5.95. Did not bid as bought it with the “Buy Now” offered by seller. Seller was theuermann of Des Moines, Iowa.

Seller responded to my inquiry about the skillet’s history as follows: (S)he acquired it when “ picking up pieces at auctions and flea markets and I have fallen in love with [CI] now as well. Part of the the reason I love cast iron so much, besides its amazing cooking ability, is the history and mystery behind the CRUD that comes on the pieces we find. Who used it? What did they cook in it? What was their life like? It is kind of romantic to think of the stories cast iron tell. 🙂

When we got this pan, it was so heavily coated with years of “love” (crud), I couldn’t make much out as far as identifying it. I consulted some friends in a cast iron Facebook group, researched one of my favorite cast iron websites and discovered I had this little gem. When I get a piece that is covered in crud, I place it in a large of lye & water. That is a standard cleaning process for cast iron covered in years of build up. Once it comes out, I place it in a tub of vinegar and water to neutralize the lye and remove any remaining rust. ”

In another paragraph he referred me to the Cast Iron Collector page on BSR. The fact that he used that page to classify the pan explains why I found the plan classified correctly before I decided to buy it.

Cast Iron Collector says:
All BSR
– If heat ring, unbroken and inset
– Ridge on bottom of skillet handle does not flatten out at sidewall of pan

1930s-1940s “Red Mountain” series
– ¾” high size number, typically followed by pattern letter(s) or dots at 6 o’clock
– Older examples often seen with number skewed to 6:30 and pattern letter at 5:30
– Older Red Mountain examples have larger pour spouts than later

Therefore my conclusion for its date of manufacture is about 1940.