I have an old anvil that was used by my father in the early 1900s . I am old old and no longer use it . My children live far away and are not interested in it . I can sell it locally, but do not know what to ask for it What is a reasonable price ? oh yes ,it weighs 85 lbs .thanks for your help Big George

-- George Wilson (cwwhtw@aol.com), October 22, 2001

Answers

George,
I can't say for sure, but I would guess if the anvil is in good condition with relatively sharp edges and a nice horn, you should be able to get around $200 for it. There are some even more valuable.
I just went to ebay's site and looked there for you, but there wasn't anything like it.
I guess an important aspect of the anvil's characteristics are whether the anvil has a sharp ring when struck with a hammer as opposed to a thud, and does the tool rebound or bounce nicely when struck.
I am in no way qualified to judge this for you; this info was gathered by myself while I was trying to buy one some time ago.
You could go to ebay.com and sell it there and put in your ad that the winner must pick it up where you live.
Who knows, you might get a good price for it there.
Good luck.

-- Glenn (gj_usa1@yahoo.com), October 22, 2001.

Around here in Missouri at farm sales they usally go for $1.00 per pound if it is exceptional maybe $2.00 pound dale

-- dale (dgarr@fidnet.com), October 23, 2001.

George,

I have been searching for an anvil for quite sometime. In this area, anvils sell for about 1.00 per pound, sometimes less, and sometimes more, just depending on its condition. Where are you located? I am in Indiana.

-- clove (clovis97@Yahoo.com), October 23, 2001.

I Went to a auction in Winoa Missouri about a month ago and they had one there that was real old and it took a very big man to pick it up and he was red in the face for doing it. Well it went for 170.oo My grandfather had one and I wish he had passed it along to me. I use to work the bellows for the fire when he was making horse shoes. I sure miss that man.

-- Teresa (c3ranch@socket.net), October 23, 2001.

I've seen anvils in antique stores selling for nearly $500. Check it out thoroughly before you let it go too low.

-- Steve in So. WI (Alpine1@prodigy.net), October 23, 2001.

$3.00 per pound is not unheard of in areas where there is larger population density. As a point of trivia, anvils (older ones)have a pair of numbers stamped in their sides, this is their weight. Anvils were weighed in 40 pound increments and the first number meant: times 40, the second number is pounds between 0 and 39. My anvil's number is 3 22, therefore it weighs 142 pounds.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), October 23, 2001.

They seem to sell at auctions around here at about $300 to $400. I collect old tools and go to about 2 or 3 auctions a week. In W Central Indiana. Nice to be retired.

-- Mel Kelly (melkelly@webtv.net), October 23, 2001.

Mitch:

Your weight measurement is incorrect. These numbers represent the 'stone' system. The first number represents a hundred-weight (British) of 112 pounds. The second number is quarter-weights of 28 pounds each. The last number is actual pounds. Thus 1 3 17 would represent 213 pounds.

However, different manufactures used different weight systems. For example, on many Fisher anvils there is a two-digit number on one of the feet. Mine is marked 17, although it only weights around 165 pounds. The anvil standard was plus or minus 10% of the marked weight. The only accurate way to determine weight is to put it on an scale.

On the original question, $1 - $2 per pound based on condition is a good rule of thumb. New they go for about $5 pound. Don't use antique shop prices as a guide. Something is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. 85 pounds sounds like a portable horseshoeing anvil.

For those in the states around Ohio, on the last full weekend in September there is the Quad-State Blacksmithing Round-up at the Miami County Fairgrounds in Troy, OH. Lots and lots of tailgate sellers for all types of blacksmithing-related equipment. Last one had over 860 people registered. Every other year it is the largest blacksmithing event in the world, surpassed on the other years only by the International Blacksmithing Conference sponsored by the Artist- Blacksmith Association of North America. There are demonstrators on Saturday and Sunday usually one on basic blacksmithing, one on intermediate-level blacksmithing, one on advanced blacksmithing, one of knife making and another on something of interest. The advanced blacksmithing guy was brought in from Israel. The knife guy was the one who basically reinvented cast Damascus steel, not pattern-welded Damascus, which is different. Friday night had a demonstration of putting rims on wooden wagon wheels. Saturday night had a forging competition. Also includes a catered meal, lunch wagon, snack stand and consignment auction. If you want to be put on the mailing list for next year send a postcard to SOFA Quad State 2002, P.O. Box 24308, Huber Heights, OH 45424-0308. (Troy is in Southwestern, OH, about 20 miles north of Dayton. Lots of motels nearby. Registration fees are very reasonable and if you come early to help set up and stay late to put things away, the registration fee can be waived.)

I am just a hobby smith, although a piece of my work was incorporated into the entry gates for the new Shakespeare Theater in London. I'm rather proud of that.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), October 23, 2001.