anvils at auction

Freds Edge

Freds Edge

Well-Known Member
Hi guy's , I have been keeping my eye out for an anvil and their are 3 at an auction near here , I am posting some pix's and would appreciate any comments on them.Anvil 2.jpgAnvil 3.jpgWilliam Foster anvil 1844.jpg
 
The first is more of a farriers anvil, I think. You notice I said I think, as I am no expert! The second has some head damage it looks like and the third don't look too bad. Check for rebound and ring with a steel ball bearing about 1" size, or a hammer if they will let you. It is hard if not almost impossible to find a used anvil that doesn't have some edge damage on the head but as long as the face is in good shape you can work around that! If it's damaged then you don't have a flat surface to work with!

I can't see any markings that might tell you more about them! I have a 120# hay budden that I bought a few years ago. Probably paid too much but other than some edge issues on the face, it has been OK! There are some here that are more knowledgeable when it comes too anvils and maybe they will chime in.
 
Looks like pics 2 and 3 are the same anvil with numbers 0 -3-16

If you see numbers at the waist such as 1 1 20, it is a British made anvil. This is their stone weight system to where the first number represents multiples of 112 (1/20th a long ton), second represents multiples of 28 and third is remaining pounds. Thus this would be 160 pounds (112 plus 28 times two plus 20). Usually off from scale weight a tad.

If the anvil has a very narrow waist and an 'oversized' horn, likely it is one of the newer farrier anvils. These are all one piece cast steel to my knowledge

Text from this location
http://www.abana.org/resources/discus/messages/5/385.html
 
Unless you need one ASAP and can pick one of those up real cheap I would pass on all 3 of them. The only one I would even consider is 3. 1 looks like a Ferriers anvil that is very well used and the other 2 are beat all to crap. Ideally you want at least a section of top to be flat and a spot where the corners are not all dinged up. Both 2 and 3 look sway backed but thats not really an issue if you know it and can work around it but good corners are more valuable than a perfectly flat top.
 
Personally, I'd pass on both of them (2 and 3 are the same anvil as far as I can tell)

The first one is in fact a farriers anvil, and neither of them look very heavy; both are very well used and beat up pretty bad.

I'd keep an eye on Craigslist. I used to see anvils being sold in southwest/middle michigan all the time. That said, you'll probably expect to pay AT LEAST a couple bucks per pound for an anvil in useable shape anymore. Not always the case, but it's beginning to seem like the norm in my experience searching for anvils.
 
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