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You are right that the spider skillet is probably the rarest. IIRC it was only made in the #8 size. Of the sized skillets, if one were to collect a complete set, the #13 is key in any of the different Griswold logos. Some of the variations like small skillets with a heat ring are rare too. This skillet was not only the rare #13 but it was also the very desirable large block logo as was the lid. At that time anyway the large block logo was the most desirable followed by the slant. I heard that at Dr. Dennis Hart's (etal) auction in Missouri a couple of months ago a #13 slant sold for $2800, not sure if it was in the sale or on the parking lot...I didn't go up for that sale. I suspect that the large block skillet and lid would bring upwards of $5k now days. At the time I bought and sold that skillet I had a new baby at home, a crappy job, and needed the money. While I would like to have it back for what I sold it for the money was much needed at the time.
The rest of the story on that auction:
This house was right on a major street in a town of 50k people. The auctioneer had been a realtor and auctioneer in that town for 20+ years and said he didn't even know there was a house there as the lot was so over grown with trees and brush. There was a house and garage full of stuff. Again the smell was horrible. Inside the house if a closet was opened there was at least 3-4 inches of mouse poo (no exaggeration). There were dead cats which had apparently been locked in the house since the woman left. There were dirty dishes and the place was just nasty beyond belief. The house itself was a nice place with like 2500 sq/ft 3 fireplaces, etc. Judging by the quality of items the residents had money in the first half of the 20th century.
I bought 2 large steamer trunks which were so heavy it took 2 men to carry them, they were sold unopened, it was like a treasure hunt. I remember 2 Popeye tin toys (one of them was the punching bag), a Mickey Mouse sailor tin toy, and several other tin and cast iron toys all in unbelievable condition.
The sale went on much of the day, around 3-4pm everyone had a headache from the smell and the auctioneer said they were going to sell the contents of the house in one lot and the contents of the garage in another. In one of the closets in the house were 2 chest of drawers, one in front of the other, along with misc boxes and furniture, etc.
By this time I had spent every dime I had, I didn't have a cell phone at that time but went ahead and bid up to around $100 on the contents of the house (knowing I could sell some junk quick or borrow the money to cover my check) which ended up selling for around $200 IIRC. The buyer was a woman and her husband, who I knew, who had a perpetual garage sale at their dumpy little rental house. They drove junk cars and were undoubtedly on public assistance. Two weeks later the buyer and her husband were each driving new (actually good used) vehicles, around 2 months later they moved into a small acreage that they bought, and they opened up a storefront antique/junk shop (which is still open). I will always believe they found a bunch of money squirreled away in tat house.
In some of my stuff I determined that the former resident was a chiropractor in the 1920's. She operated her business from that house. I will always believe that she hid money in there and the buyers of the contents hit the jackpot the day they bought the contents.
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