Looks Brown or Tan and Blotchy

[MDavis]

Hi, I used the Lye soak on the skillet in the pictures.

Vinegar soaked to get what little rust was off.

Scrubbed with abrasive pad.

Crisco at 375 degrees 3 times for a hour.

It is brownish not Black.

Should I lye bath again and start over?

Also there is a small looks like a "1" on the base of the handle. Does that mean anything.

What is this skillet worth and what year is it from?

 

[Doug D.]

The oil can become polymerized but if not heated high and long enough to carbonize it will be bronze. Blackening will come with use and time. The blotches are either insufficiently wiped-off oil or stains on the metal where rust or very carbonized residue once was. The 1 is likely a gang mold identifier. Small pieces were often cast simultaneously from one matchplate with several patterns on it. Or it could be that enough patterns were required for that pan's volume that multiple 702A patterns were made. The "late" handle style indicates after 1944.