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Despite my offers to help, the gentleman from whom I purchased this anvil carried it up the stairs from his basement on his own. It was not without effort, and I briefly wondered if I would need to call an ambulance. He made it though. 

Though I did not get as amazing of a deal as some, I am very happy to have acquired my first real anvil.

It appears to be an early Trenton, made in Germany and imported into the states prior to 1898. It weighs 164 lbs. It came from an old farm that was bought out to build a freeway bypass in my area. As I understand, it is a farrier style anvil with the small profusion on the bench and general shape.

Though the edges are quite chipped, the face is mostly flat and has a good feel and rebound. The hardy and pritchel holes are also quite worn on their edges. 

All in all, it seems to be a serviceable anvil that I look forward to using for many years.

Good to know. Certainly will continue my search.Thank you!

Found this old iron today and am mostly wondering what you all think of the current state of the face. It appears to have a hardened plate that has chipped or delaminated across a section of the face. How much does this hurt the usability of the anvil, and is there anything that can be done to prevent further damage?

Can anything be determined from the appearance of the anvil about age or manufacture? My (likely flawed) understanding suggests mid-1800s English manufacture, built-up from multiple pieces of wrought iron, with a hardened steel face. There are clear welds on the feet as well as the horn, and the only markings I could see were the weight, indicating 136lbs. It is said that there were upwards of 200 anvil manufacturers in England during this period, so finding the name may be quite difficult in a case like this. Rebound with a steel ball was pretty good across the face with good consistency even on the damaged area. 

Thank you all for your input!

I set up an appointment to look at it. I will keep this updated with what happens!

Here is a link to another anvil on the local Craigslist. A 138 lb Hay Budden with an asking price of $550. I have not contacted this guy, so it may have sold by now.

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I am going to take a look at it, see how it strikes me. I will do the ball bearing test and go from there. Thanks for all the input I have received!

Thank you! It makes sense that that the rounded edge is a feature and not a flaw. I notice that the logo on that anvil is the same as the one in the ad as well. Good to know.

That's kind of what I was thinking. I have been searching for some time and there is very little that comes available in my area, especially a name brand like that one.

Thank you very much for all the info. Sounds like I can find better.

Here is a link to the ad: Link Removed

Here also are some of the photos. He said he would take $400 for it.

Hello all, I am a new member looking to get into Blacksmithing as a hobby. I find anvils to be beautiful, functional pieces of history, and I have been searching for an American made anvil for my small shop. I do not intend to create large pieces, and will require some mobility out of an anvil. As such, a fairly light weight anvil is what I have been looking for at this time. This will also help it conform to a relatively low budget.

I found an ad for an 88lb Arm & Hammer and am looking for some information. It looks to be in good condition, though one section of the face near the horn is rounded over. This may have been for a specific usage, or is it more likely repaired damage?

The serial number is 47789, which I understand to be quite near the end of the production run. Is it possible to tell the date of manufacture from this? The logo is stamped fairly crudely, and does not have the lower section that says "wrought iron" as other Arm & Hammer anvils have. 

The final concern I have is that the entire waist is welded. I understand that later Arm & Hammer / Vulcan anvils have welded waists, but I cannot find many photos of original A&H anvils welded like this. Could this be a repaired crack, or would this anvil have began life this way?

Asking price on this anvil is nearly $5/lb, which I understand is high, but anvils in my area (Southeastern Wisconsin) seem to be few and far between.

Thank you all for any insight you may have, and I look forward to joining in the blacksmithing hobby!