hi my names john i recently picked up a 23 lb cast iron star anvil in very good condition i can't seem to find out much about this anvil actually i can't find any 23 lb star anvils at all there all over 100 lbs I'm trying to find out what there worth any help would be grateful 

John if you are in the USA you can probably ILL "Anvils in America" at your local public library.  If you are in Antarctica you are probably out of luck. 

no I'm in new york state ill have to go look that book up does it give prices by chance or is it just info on manufactures 

NJanvilman has a Star collection and likely knows more than anyone.
He will pipe in shortly I'm sure.

For better assessment of value, pics of top and all sides of anvil will help

I will try and post some pics later I'm also trying to figure out what such a small anvil might have been used for to big for jewelry I'm not sure thanks

Prices are extremely location specific so hard to give in a book only 550 pages long.

 

There is a collectors market for small "real" brand name anvils and so their prices per pound  can be quite high compared to larger ones.

 

As for uses:  You need to do some smithing at your mine; strap your 150 pound anvil on your back and hike 5 days into the mountains....You "dabble at home" and have to keep your equipment in the basement and carry it out when you need it and your back/lungs/legs have never been the same since the great war...It's the middle of the great depression and you can't afford food much less a large anvil...You don't need to do any large work; shoot there's a half dozen smiths within 5 miles of your farm why tie up the money on a big anvil? etc and so on

STAR anvils were made from 10 to 275? lbs.  There might be bigger, bit aside from the sawmaker's anvil photo on this site, I have never seen any bigger.  Check out the thread of STAR anvils on the brand specific list.

 

Fisher and Star both made small anvils.  They were supplying what the market wanted.  The small anvils are not suited for heavy smith work, but could be used for light dity work, or by a jeweler.

 

Value is what someone will pay, and what the seller will accept.  There is not definative price list for these.

I had a 20lb Peter Wright anvil I sold to an American member of this forum for £300 + £125 shipping.

He is a collector & calls small anvils like this "travelling anvils".

I had been using it as a doorstop.

A hand forged wrought iron / blister-and-shear steel 20lb Peter Wright is NOT a 23lb Cast Iron Start Anvil.

I hope were not making that comparison.

 

That being said...    ... I want BOTH of 'em

Ah I misread the first post didn't see the word "iron".