G. F. Filley #4 Cast Iron Gem or Cornbread Pan - Restored and Ready Beautiful For Sale

G.F. Filley was a St. Louis-based cast iron manufacturer in the mid to late 1800s, known for creating unique gem, or muffin, pans. These pans featured distinctive, non-Waterman patterns and were used to bake "gems," a type of unleavened muffin or cake. Filley's craftsmanship made their pans highly sought-after by collectors of vintage cast iron cookware.Individual Cups: Gem pans are cast iron baking pans with individual, shallow cups designed for baking single-serving "gems".G.F. Filley, of Excelsior Manufacturing Co. also produced several designs of gem pans. Each Filley pattern bears its own unique number, but with little or no correspondence to the Waterman designs. Most of the Filley gem pans have crude gate or sprue marks.Shipped via USPS ground advantage.I'll describe as best I can but see photo's for best description, this is the actual item you will receive. Please send me any questions you have.Start with the positive: Strong logo's, no cracks, very little wobble, no warping, seasoning holds well, cooks beautifully. I made some cornbread muffins and they lifted right out. I preheated and oiled the pan, added the batter, and baked on 400. Seasoned with 4 rounds of Crisco.
Condition issues: Some pitting on bottom, mostly around the center of pan. Top of pan/cooking area. There is pitting spread around but mostly in one of the center cups and one corner cup. One handle has either a casting flaw or deeper pit. There is heat staining, but I cannot stress enough that the iron is solid and smooth and the seasoning holds.
The cups, even when pitted, feel very smooth and the cornbread I made just lifted right now with no sticking.