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I Forge Iron

300 lb. Anvil identification


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At $1.66/ LB ? RUN don't walk. That anvil would sell for an easy $4.00/ LB here in CA. I would not mention a lower price until I was there in person, and would probably just ask if the price was firm, sometimes a low ball offer will upset the seller and they will not want to sell it to you at all.

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Well gentlemen, I dropped the hammer and bought this anvil! Met a retired welder in the process and had a good chat. One thing I love about pursuing this trade is all the great people you meet in the process. After I gave the anvil a good look-over and did a couple rebound tests we manhandled the monster into the back of my truck by sliding it up a couple of 4x4's. Brought it back to my shop and cleaned up that marking on the side...most definitely an Arm and Hammer, and a beautifully forged one at that. I did a lot of research on Arm and Hammer anvils before I bought it and this is the biggest one that I've found any record of. The proportions are perfect, the edges are crisp, and after a little wire brushing it'll be clean enough to eat off of! It's dead flat, rings beautifully, and rebounds more than an NBA player. Being from Ohio, it's great to own a piece of industrial history brought to life right here in my home state, and I'm looking forward to getting another lifetime of work out of it. I'm now the proud owner of a 300 lb. Arm and Hammer and a 105 lb. Trenton...can't ask for much more than that!

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Not as common as HB or PW but not rare by any means.

I used to live in Columbus OH and tracked down one of the two anvil manufacturers locations; talked with a fellow at the fleamarket who used to work there and he told me when they shut down there was a line of anvils along the top of the river bank! Unfortunately as an old industrial area, the river bed is about 25% iron so a metal detector wouldn't be much help. I did find about a dozen of the old sandstone grind wheels that were rolled down into the river when they became too small---about 3-4' in diameter and 1' thick...

I own a 93# A&H---but traded for it in Arkansas and moved it back to Ohio---where I bought a 400# anvil that came out of a copper mine in AZ that I proceeded to move to NM. Anvils get around!

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I did a little wire brushing on the anvil and found a serial number. The number is 39193. I don't believe A and H used the hundred weight system, but rather stamped the weight on the side of the anvil under the logo. Could someone with a copy of anvils in America look up that serial number and give me any information?

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The serial # puts in at 1922-23 according to Anvils in America.
Most of the Arm & Hammer anvils that I have seen have the weight stamped under the logo, there is another thread going that looks like the weight is stamped on the front foot, but that is a 1948-49 anvil

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