This ASO @ about $3.50/ lb It says U.S.A. it must be a good one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blacksmiths-Anvil-55-Pound-Antique-USA-/130693131774?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e6deaedfe

They said it was found cleaning out old barns; but they are Murphy's Marine company and it's very rusty---Anchor anyone?

In all fairness it started at $25 + $32.87 shipping.

It is an unusual anvil. I am sure the bidders are collectors.

Phil

Even collectors can be duped into thinking it is a real anvil when it is really a POS. It does however have a pleasing shape for an ASO.

$151.01 final bid on a 55# anvil

I ripped a picture from the auction.

Phil

That works out to $3.93/ lb, the only nice thing I can see is that it says "USA"
I think Thomas got it right "Boat Anchor"

And they didnt even get a pritchel hole!

That works out to $3.93/ lb,

$ 2.74 a pound...

After the 32.87 shipping... 151.01+32.87 = 183.88 delivered.

183.88/55 = 3.34 per pound.

Expensive for an ASO, but an anvil decoration that has USA cast into it...well obviously someone wanted it!

Phil

But it's these prices that people find when they look to see how much the anvil they have to sell is worth.

I picked up one just like it for 25 bucks, the casting is poor, the hardy hole is not even square, but it does have USA cast into the side.

I picked up one just like it for 25 bucks, the casting is poor, the hardy hole is not even square, but it does have USA cast into the side.

Sounds like we will see another on Ebay soon!

Phil

Many years ago, I attended an auction where one guy bought absolutely every blacksmith tool, even the broken and mangled blacksmithing tools that were for sale. He was absolutely non-discriminating in what he bought. He even paid top dollar for an anvil that was missing the rear third. Since no one else was allowed to buy stuff, it became a game for the attendees to see how high they could bid him up.

What I see on the shipping cost is $65.44+$151.01=$216.45/55=3.935454545 Or $3.93/lb (I do not know where Phil is seeing $32.87 for shipping maybe I am missing something here)
And by the way I have a perfectly good anvil that I will sell for $3.93/lb x 84=$330.12 + shipping so the actual cost will be more per lb

Maybe Ebay is giving shipping based on our zip codes in Ohio and California? I messed that up if it is the case.

Phil

How can you tell this is a POS by the picture? What are you seeing that I don't see?

BTW I am a noob, so if this is a dumb question you will have to forgie me.

"How can you tell this is a POS by the picture? What are you seeing that I don't see?"

OK, school is in session. Take a good long look at the photo that Phil saved above. Go ahead, I'll wait.

The subject is an unfinished(1), poor quality(2) all cast iron ASO.(3)

(1) No effort was made to grind and clean it up before it's original sale to the public, always a bad sign.

(2) As evidenced by the filled letter A, uneven seams visible at the horn and sides, and rough sand surface. A quality company would use a baby-powder fine sand, not coarse beach sand.

(3) The sand finish face demonstrates the lack of a tool steel face with pritchel hole. Tool steel will rust and pit in a different manner than cast iron. And it had never been used as anything but a doorstop, because if it had, the face would have major chips and scars, or the horn and/or heel would have fallen off.

Just a note, because an anvil is an Anvil Shaped Object, does not mean it is garbage. It IS unsuitable for our primary purposes of a forging anvil, but at the right price they have secondary uses! If you want an anvil in your garden, if you want an inexpensive (key word here, inexpensive) lump of cast iron for a purpose, say making a custom spoon/ladel swage or shovel form (lots of quality time with your angle grinder)

Now, this ASO is a piece of Americana, historical artwork. That is why the price went so high.

The cast iron ASO has been available for as long as anvils have been mass produced in America. Some historic Sears catalog pages reflect this, marketing a cast iron, unfaced anvil along side quality, name brand anvils.

Of note is that being cast alone does not make an ASO. If quality steel is used in the casting then a cast anvil may be a very good working tool. Most modern anvils are produced as high quality castings.

Sometimes lower surface finish copies of anvils show up that are well made from quality steel too. With a little clean up these may become quality anvils.

Phil

The issue is paying Mercedes prices for a Yugo anvil. Not a good idea, also if someone misrepresents an anvil like that how much do you trust whatever else they may say about it?

But if someone wants a Yugo and it's the only one on sale and 5 other people are after a Yugo then the price will be what the price is....

As was said - the starting price was $25, it wasn't the person selling that set the price it was the people buying...and they can't be wrong.

Chris

it's amazing what people will complain about.

Chris; I guess you have never been to an auction with a couple of shills planted. I stopped attending auctions by once company as I grew to recognize his workers by sight and noticing that they were bidding up stuff---and if they "won" it; the same stuff showed up later in the auction...

I've seen it happen both real life and online auctions, but as bad and un-ethical as it is - if the final sale goes to a person who paid an amount he was willing to pay for an item, then it is what the item was worth at the time, if you aren't willing to pay that much then don't bid.

Chris

I see it a bit differently; as a gedanken experiment: if you ever have a sick child would it be OK for the Pharmacist to raise the price of the needed medicine just to see what you are willing to pay at that moment? After all "it is what the item was worth at the time, if you aren't willing to pay that much then don't buy."

Auctions are engineered to try to get you to pay more than it might bring in a regular sale---that's why they have them.

I'm not sure this is the place for a philosophical arguement, I also don't think we disagree that it is immoral and unethical (as well as illegal) to boost the price of an item you are selling beyond the normal market forces level.

But there is no suggestion that this has happened here and so what the market has decided is that this item is worth the price it sold for, therefore that is what it is worth.