Jump to content
I Forge Iron

Trenton Anvil serial ID needed


Recommended Posts

I am preparing to purchase this Anvil, and need some help identifying it. It appears to be a Trenton, the left foot has a Z116 and the right foot appears to have A31201. Any idea on the date of manufacture and the current value? I am in Kansas City, MO. From what I have been reading it appears to be a 1901 Trenton, 116 lbs. Thanks

28694266_1969691783043416_41052833_o.jpg

28661099_1969550369724224_3129296013736187694_n.jpg

28755441_1969691863043408_869236496_o.jpg

28695261_1969692289710032_1935200691_o.jpg

28696176_1969692299710031_2060797800_o.jpg

28755840_1969712326374695_1802877158_o.jpg

28755279_1969692999709961_274549932_o.jpg

28693423_1969692706376657_893614628_o.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Current value is what you put on it. You only spend what you can afford, not what others can. You can get a new 125# JHM for around $700, so I would not spend more than that on a smaller used one.

Black Frog is the Trenton info guy. He should be along soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Older anvils are nice work horses but very overrated in my view. The weight on that anvil is on the lower side and depending on what you want to forge, can be rather small. 

As for value, it depends on the market in your location, more than the brand. Antique value does not apply and older means made with less reliable technology and more likely to fail ... relatively speaking of course. 

Many people forget that there are good quality new anvils, that are fully forged and will outperform any old anvil. The "old is better" was mostly false for most modern anvils and only applies to chinese and poor example of modern eastern europe anvils, but was successfully exploited by those who sell older anvils alluding to antique value or some other mystic, non existing properties that push the prices of older beaten up anvil way beyond the reasonable. 

I wouldn't pay more than $300 for that anvil and I live in a area of very high prices that believes anvils improve with age. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

116 pounds +/-, probably made in Columbus OH, USA, and US$2-3 would be a good price. If a sellers asks me to put a price on an anvil I start at US$1 a pound and negotiate up. $1 a pound was a standard price for Decades in the past and every once in a while someone will accept it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...