Michael Cochran Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 My inlaws went on a 3 day 'junking adventure' this last weekend and I am curious about an anvil I was told about. My fatherinlaw was telling me about one anvil he saw that the guy told him was a 300+ pound confederate railroad anvil. He was asking $8999.99. I have searched and searched and cannot locate anything with pictures even close to what he says this one looked like. So I'm asking if anyone here knows anything about them and maybe has some pictures you could share with me. I was told it had about 8" wide face and was close to 24" overall length and about 30" tall. He said the horn looked 'like the front of an old ship.' I told him he should have gotten a picture lol. Any help appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 sounds like BS to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Sounds like a common old bridge anvil, found in any RR repair shop until recently. $499 for the anvil, $8,500 for the hype.Craigslist is the new Philosopher's Stone: where you can turn iron into gold with the addition of magic a line of BS.Mecklenburg Iron Works here in Charlotte was the location of the last Naval Stores of the Confederacy: far inland end of the track when they pulled back from Norfolk. They turned from making gold mining equipment to casting cannons and things, and re-rolled RR track into armor plate. Never heard of any stories of what happened to the tools when they finally shut down, but the site in now Bobcats Arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Thomas, I have no idea how to respond to your comment. I have no idea which part of my post is 'bs.'John, I showed him some pictures of anvils, including the bridge anvils. From what I gather from his comments it looks similar to a London pattern with a few key differences. He said the waist was fatter and the horn has a slow curve from the bottom just above the base with a shelf on it roughly 4-5 inches long. He keeps saying the way the horn comes up looks like the front of an old ship. Other than that I have nothing else to go on.i guess it's just one of things lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Your post is not BS; his story that it is a "confederate rr anvil" sounds like BS to me. However if you want to talk with the expert look up Richard Postman author of Anvils in America and give him a call and discuss it. Most of the bridge anvils and "RR" anvils I know of date till after the ACW and we know how easily false attributions can get tagged on stuff. I've run into several "My Great^x grandfather brought this anvil over from England" speaking about an anvil made in America less than 100 years ago and of course there is the urban legend about why so many old southern anvils are found hornless. (And we actually know how that one got started and by who!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Supposedly he has paperwork where he traced it back to some time between 1850-1880. I think it's like John said I think it's just hype. Most of the stuff was way over priced from what I was told so it's probably just a story to sell an 'old' anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Just by reading this thread, I'm starting to get the feeling that the funny little green anvil that I have might NOT be very anvil Noah's family use to make the nails for the Ark?Sheesh, but it looks so old...And the guy who was reluctantly selling it, might not actually have had a great, great grandfather a Templar knight who secretly dug it out from under the dome of the Rock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Just by reading this thread, I'm starting to get the feeling that the funny little green anvil that I have might NOT be very anvil Noah's family use to make the nails for the Ark?Sheesh, but it looks so old...And the guy who was reluctantly selling it, might not actually have had a great, great grandfather a Templar knight who secretly dug it out from under the dome of the Rock?It might be Ian, do the Cuneiform documentation tablets look inscribed by lightning?Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swedefiddle Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Good Morning,Such a colourful description for an unseen Anvil. I can't imagine how the story will change, when someone actually see's the sight, before or after sore Eyes. New Game; Anvil, Scissors, Prayper!!Imagination is a wonderful Tool, 40/40 vision!! Straight as the Coast Road of Oregon/California!!Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 No, but he did have a hand written letter, from his uncle confirming the facts. All the other documentation had sadly been lost when a stray V2 hit their family home in the village near Roslyn Chapel during WW2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stash Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Randy McDaniel told me this story a few weeks ago, I will relay it the best my feeble memory can recall. He had an anvil seemingly ,stamped CSA, and was very popular with a few folk south of the border who were offering goodly sums of money, but he wouldn't sell. He did some more research ( Maybe from Postman) and it turned out to be a C&A Armitage mousehole, with the '&' a little obscured. Randy - my apologies if I mis spoke or stole your thunder. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Spaulding Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 I'd love to see pictures of this strange anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 Me too, Michael, that was the reason I brought it up but I guess it's just one of those things where someone who doesn't know anvils is trying to describe one from a couple days prior and has no idea what he's talking about. I guess it was just another anvil, nothin special. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpankySmith Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I have friends who are all the time telling me they were at an antique shop or flea market this weekend and saw an anvil. "What kind, How much, what condition" I ask excitedly? "It was big and old." Whah....that's it?! Yup. Sigh. As MCochran said, when your Anvil Scouts are improperly trained for the task, this is what you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SReynolds Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I always find it intriguing that if you own a brand name anvil in good shape, desire to sell it, it isn't worth anything because it isn't rare. I always find it intriguing that if you own a rare anvil in good shape, desire to sell it, it isn't worth anything because folks are looking to buy a common anvil to use and abuse, will not pay a premium for a rare anvil.Not necessarily an anvil. It can be anything in place of an anvil...so says Rick Harrison @ Gold and Silver Pawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judson Yaggy Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 I have something this tread reminded me of, and I'll sell them to collectors for the right price. I have all the horns that Sherman knocked off all those anvils down south. My Great Great Grandfather rode with him and started collecting them round about the seventh or eighth one they sledgehammered (so family history states). He spent his evenings playing and winning card games to get space in returning cavalry saddle bags, and it's amazing how much those Morgan horses can cary. Supposedly this is why Sherman's march slowed the further they progressed. Grampy started numbering them at some point but his punch set was missing the #6 so the order in which he collected them is a little confusing. He sure brought a lot back here to Vermont thou. But anyway I have a pile of old horns out behind the shop, and besides welding 2 together to make a sweet (except for the wobble) double horned anvil I've never done anything with them so perhaps it's time to sell. My family has kept them well oiled so there is NO rust on any of them! I'd rather sell as a lot but bring a big truck, if no taker for the lot I will sell by piece. $1000 each and $2k for the unusual ones as I've heard there is an anvil price bubble currently. Sure would like to see pics of that Confederate RR anvil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) My paternal Grandmother's maiden name is Sherman and the General expects his rightful share go to his kin. Don't worry I won't litigate for the statutory minimum interest since the horn . . . misplacement occurred. He was always a gracious soul and will accept the usual General's 80/20 share. It's a well know fact he wasn't interested in preventing CSA blacksmiths from making horse shoes but to patent the soon to be outrageously popular icecream cone and establish factories where war orphans could not only earn a living but enjoy breaks on the company dime.Frosty The Lucky. Edited April 16, 2015 by Frosty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimberBull Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 That explains things. I. Not having any luck in finding a decent anvil at a decent price here in the South. Most of them seem to be far, far away in NY, OH or PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Frosty Effendi, No luck citizen. The statute of limitations has run out for any action of the Sherman interests in the said anvil horn stash. Better luck in your next litigious cause. But 2018 has a ways to go. Vigorous brain storming is advised. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgedinfire123 Posted January 14, 2018 Share Posted January 14, 2018 one of the reasons I forge such pretty fig leaves is that Adam and Eve modelled them for me. I use a big rock as an anvil and a small one as my hammer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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