I was asked to identify this anvil and I’m stumped. Only info I have is there are no markings and it’s an anvil. Looks German to me. I’m wondering if this is a specialty anvil with that half round there because it doesn’t appear dovetailed like some anvils 

i could be wrong though. 
 

thanks 

Interesting anvil for sure, could be a modification by a prior owner. It looks very old and has a large sweet spot, I like it.

Yea it’s very neat looking. I agree it’s probably modified for a certain task the smith did often

I agree with old and from the Germanys area, (most likely predates the 19th century unification), and modified by a previous owner.

It took me quite a while looking for this anvil again. I knew I have seen one with a similar groove. Maybe it's something german Smith's used to do to there anvil for what purpose I dont know, but I would like to know!!!

(I would like to note these are not my pictures.)

 

Have looked on several German websites for similar anvils and find a lot of references to specific anvils for forging leaf springs. These anvils are also provided with similar trenches. Unfortunately, I don't know what these (wells) were used for and the exact purpose. But since many historical cars and carriages were carried by leaf springs, it is not surprising that an anvil like this appears here and there. However, I am sure that there are enough specialists here in the forum who can decipher this secret.