Questions about an Anvil from 1850's

R

Railrider1920

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Dec 14, 2010
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Hi folks,
I found an antique shop that has a big anvil for sale. They told me that it is from the 1850's or 1860's. It is a large anvil, large enough to use lifting poles. There are holes in it for the poles.
There is "writing" on the foot of it, but the lady wasn't sure what it was, she couldn't read it. That is all the info on it that I have right now. I am going to stop and take a look at it next week. I'll get some pics while there.

Are anvils that are that old still good to use, assuming the face is still flat? If it is flat and has no obvious cracks, should I consider buying it if it's a good price? She didn't have a price for it yet.

Thanks for any suggestions
Rob
 
I would love to see pics. I have always wanted and plan to have one some day. I would think age has little to do with if its good to use or not, and more on its quality.

just how large is this thing? A friend of mine has an old "standard size" anvil so somewhere between 150-200 lbs? I only used it as an odd object to to "clean & press" 3 reps being my best with it.
 
The main thing that matters is that it rebounds well and the face is in at least okay shape to work on. Age does not matter very much with anvils. I had a 1850's era Fisher that was a great anvil.

Take a hammer or ball bearing with you to try it and see how high it will bounce. You want at least 60% but 90% is about the most you'll get.

If she's trying to sell it to you as an antique based on it's age she may want more than it's worth as a tool. Depending on the anvil market in your area, $3/lb is fair for a good anvil, $2/lb is a good deal. If she asks for less than that, pay it quickly without saying anything. If she wants more, $3.50/lb is pushing it, a very nice anvil would be worth it. If it's larger than 350-400 lbs, you have to begin to adjust your pricing allowance since very heavy anvils in good shape are worth a bit more per pound than their lighter brethren.

See if you can take some flour or chalk and try to dust it over the writing to make it stand out. The holes for "poles" are more likely handling holes from the factory where it was made, and are common an all makes of anvils and all weights.

If it is indeed from the 1850's, and if it's not a Fisher Eagle, it's almost certainly an imported anvil. Likely from England or Germany. English and German anvils of that time are pretty easy to distinguish from each other at a distance in most cases.
 
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Thanks for the tips guys. It is a place far enough away from my house that I'll have to wait until I go to work next to stop by and check it out. Not really close enough for just running over there. I'll get pics when I do.
There is an estate sale this weekend. They had an unmarked anvil they already sold for $60. Wish I had found out about the sale 3 days ago. Someone from Dallas Tx drove over to NW Fl to pick it up.

BTW Salem, nice back piece in your avatar. How long did that take?
Rob
 
Thanks Rob, it took 6-7 hours total, three sessions. It's going to have the stump extended down with some more tools hung on it and gnarly wood texture at some point in the future. It's based on a pic of my 171# Peter Wright...
 
The marks on the feet are probably weight marks.

When you go, take photos, and try and determine roughly how heavy it is. Can you pick it up 3-4" easily, barely lift it an inch, or it won't budge? Those usually correlate to 70-100 pounds, 100-150 pounds, 150 pounds and up.
 
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