Frosty your so right.  People here think blacksmithing tools are a retirement investment.  I had one guy try to sell me a 100# Arm and Hammer anvil for $1200 on craigs.  Some of the guys had razzed him over the price and he got upset.  Ah well.. I'll keep keeping on.

 

He listed a 4" post vise for something like $800 too didn't he? Yeah, he got really upset when folk didn't beat a path to his door to pay stupid money for old tools. Wait a second, are you talking about the guy off Fairview Loop, or is there another one in your neighborhood?

 

See any smithing tools at auctions Bryan? Auctioneers around here don't make any bones about having ringers in the audience and reserve the right to jack a price up if they don't like the current bid. Anything that even looks like a blacksmith tool goes for stupid money. A couple years ago I saw about 40lbs. or RR rail with a pointy end go for some $250+ because it was an anvil. a pair of beat up pickup tongs went for $57 at an auction last fall but the ringer only had to fake a bid twice to get it there.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Frosty, we call them "house players"..

Lol, we are blessed with a very large population of the "cronicly ignorant" hear in oklihoma.

He listed a 4" post vise for something like $800 too didn't he? Yeah, he got really upset when folk didn't beat a path to his door to pay stupid money for old tools. Wait a second, are you talking about the guy off Fairview Loop, or is there another one in your neighborhood?

 

See any smithing tools at auctions Bryan? Auctioneers around here don't make any bones about having ringers in the audience and reserve the right to jack a price up if they don't like the current bid. Anything that even looks like a blacksmith tool goes for stupid money. A couple years ago I saw about 40lbs. or RR rail with a pointy end go for some $250+ because it was an anvil. a pair of beat up pickup tongs went for $57 at an auction last fall but the ringer only had to fake a bid twice to get it there.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

You know that sounds familiar.  He very well may be the same guy.  In Big Lake?  I think.  I havn't been to any auctions.  I am afraid I would cry.  I totally believe it though.

Frosty, I've said this before but I'll say it again.  Those of us in the anvil rich areas should fill up a shipping container, send it to you to resell and split the profits.  

 

Northern New England qualifies as fairly good but not great smithing equipment territory.   Rugged terrain and highly localized industrial production make the "Farm Anvil", a well used 100 to 150 pound Peter Wright or Hay Budden the most common.  I buy on average one nice anvil per year and send it along to another smith, I pass on 4 or 5 per year because of poor condition or price.  Rarely buy one off craigslist thou I watch it constantly, I get far more by word of mouth or "anvil radar".  Drive past somewhere likely looking, turn around and politely ask if they have ever seen an anvil.  

 

The big ones around here tend to be in old mill towns, near railroad crossroads, or near quarries (granite, marble, slate, like Stuart said).  Local industrial areas.  

 

Good anvil hunting territory depends on being in the right place on your local farm/industry/time curve.  Get too far away from any of those three and you will be paying ebay prices.  Sorry all you suburbanites out there.  

Can't walk through a farm auction in Southern Ontrio without tripping over a Peter Wright Anvil.

I would say in my area its fair to rich. A quick look on Craigslist had 5-6 anvils up for sale some at good prices some not. but based on some of the rumors I've read on here. Larry tends to grab up a lot of the good ones. And with Nimba almost in my back yard it kinda scews the results. Though, none of the ones on CL are Nimba's

 

So he is the one who takes all the good deals. It is amazing how much anvils go for up here. If you can find them for $3 a lb your lucky but they are gone within minutes of listing on CL. I bought mine a while back and got lucky they were listed on my days off. Lately they have been going for upward of $5-6 a lb and some are vulcans/arm and hammers for peter wrights with half the top plate missing. A guy had one PW with the front half of the top plate missing started at like $900 and it weighed 180lb or so. He lowered the price after a few weeks by a little bit but it was still around $600. 

 

There was a nice columbian listed recently 300lber for about $450 I think but it was sold instantly I think.

Well. some would say my area is anvil rich. I could prob find at least 3 for sale this coming weekend with-in 50 mi. All over priced but for sale. There is a 80lb PW in a farm supply store that is beat to heck, with large chunks out of the face for $425 FIRM. I consider the area poor because there is never a good one at a reasonable price.

 Also there is a used tool shop about 75 mi. away that has at least a couple of post vises and last time I was there he had 4 post drills.

CT is very Anvil Rich. The Prices seem high but you can find them everywhere. Good History of Blacksmiths and industry here. 

If you are going by CL, within 100 miles we have 3 dealers, one real anvil (badly chipped) which has been posted for two weeks and may or may not still be available, one cast iron ASO, and 5 chunks of I beam or RR track listed as anvils. All of the above listed for $3-8 per pound. :o

Southwest MI is a pretty fair area to find anvils. Within two years I had 13 anvils in the shop, total average about $0.90/lb. Using TPAAT netted the first couple, and after that it was a downhill slide (: