Help Please - 200-250 lb Peter Wright Anvil - Value Estimates?

[Filson]

Hey guys, need some help...

So, on my way to town the other day, I passed a sign saying "Tool Sale 1/4 mile" down a dirt road. I turned around and went to take a look. The guy had pretty much sold most of his stuff, so I was unfortunately late. We started talking about old tools and stuff though, and asked him if he had an anvil. He said yeah, but it wasn't for sale. I asked him if he'd mind showing me, and he was more than happy to.

Standing in his shop, was a very beautiful Peter Wright anvil in amazing condition. He said he thought it was somewhere around 200-250 lbs, and I would imagine he was pretty close on the weight estimate. I unfortunately didn't measure it or take any pictures, as he wasn't interested in selling it. But I would think it was somewhere around 30-32" long, and the face looked right about 4 1/2"-5" wide. The hardy (sp?) hole looked to be about 1" square.

The face looked like it had seen little use, the horn had some minor hammer marks but looked very good overall. The edges of the face and step looked great and overall, it just looked like am amazing anvil.

Anyway, before showing me the anvil he told me "Well, I'm not always planning on selling something but everything has a price, ya know?" So here's the thing... His plan is to pass it on to his son-in-law some day. I would like to make a very solid offer (without overpaying) on the anvil. Something that he might just consider selling to me on the spot, or at least, if he decides to sell it later on, my offer would be the best he's had.

I'm not "into" anvils (yet lol) like I am vises, and I don't know the prices too well. I was wondering what some of you guys would consider a solid price for the anvil, based on my description. I sure wish I took a picture to show you guys, but it wouldn't have felt right given the situation.

And before you mention it, I know, I know, I know, I can find excellent deals at auctions, estate sales, etc. I've had some big scores over the years, but that was with actively looking, which I'm not too interested in doing at the time for an anvil. So what would you think a good 75-80% "retail" price would be? Thanks guys!

 

[mitusa]

Anvils used to be $2 a pound.....last I saw sold was about $4 a pound. It was a IIRC Trenton and had a good base to go with it. Very good shape with very little wear.

I wouldn't think $600 -800 would be too far out of line.

Good luck!

I know that sounds like a lot, but I don't think they're gonna get any cheaper.

 

[Filson]

Honestly, $700-800 was about what I was thinking, but wanted to get some more knowledgeable input first. Thank you!

 

[Davefr]

I agree.

$3/lb would be a good retail price for a 100-150 lb name brand anvil.

However, like vises, prices seem to be exponential one you get >150 lbs. If you can get it for $4/lb then go for it. The seller should take you seriously at that price and that would be a great find.

 

[Filson]

I appreciate the comments guys. I think I'll swing by his place again in the next few days.

 

[yotie]

Im cheering you on, I hope you purchase it!

 

[drivesitfar]

Filson: I sold 3 PW anvils this year and they weren't cheap and even a bit harder to find. i think the least i had to drive to pick one up was 4 hours. if you can get a picture of the name stamp there is a clue to the age in the way it's stamped. below that is the weight stamps so you can get a good idea of the weight it was when made and it shouldn't be too far from it.

all information so far is on par with what i would say so if you can get some pictures to post i might be able to expand on them.

good luck and if you are not able to get pictures and just another view the weight #'s mean the following. let's say the numbers are 2 1 17 because there is good spacing in between the #'s for a reason.

first # is 112 pounds per unit so if a 2 there then you have 224 pounds for that #.

middle # is 28 pounds per unit so 28 for this example

last # is just actual weight so the 17 pounds get added on.

an anvil stamped with these weight #'s weighs 269 pounds approximately. ok?

PM me if you have any questions or just post them if you like.

 

[vandezand]

There's a 250 lb peter wright for $500 around here.

 

[Filson]

Well damn, DIF, if I knew you were selling one I'd have hit you up lol. I might have to make a new post called Filson's Wanted List lol.

 

[drivesitfar]

Filson: always ask is my motto so do you want to sell me your Reed 208???

seriously you have maybe a monster which is good and maybe bad because when they are big they can dropped, moved or whatever and cause some damage or have been damaged during it's lifetime.

when buying an anvil take a straight edge to check front to back on top and side to side. a steel ball to drop from about 6 to 12 inches and see how high it bounces back up and the higher the better. a good pair of glasses and a flashlight to check for welds, JB or bondo fixes or just a crack or break that might not be seen with the naked eye. most are going to not be perfect because they are usually 100 to 200 years old but you would like not to have to do major repairs unless price is really good.

again i know I've said this and you've probably heard it but i didn't realize you couldn't hit cold steel on an anvil until a year ago and I've owned a few. Anvils are made to pound hot steel on hence the rebound that is built into them. cold steel should be pounded on a nice piece of RR track.

by the way mine were little at 100 and a couple 150's, but they were pretty nice and went for about $3-4 per pound. i was hoping to keep them, but i wasn't using them yet and a few interesting vises happened to come my way.

one thing to note is if one was in a fire it might have lost all it's use as a good anvil and some of the tests above will reveal that, but still ask if you are talking to an owner that has used it or owned it for years.

 

[Filson]

DIF, great suggestions as always. I never thought to take a straight edge and a steel ball with me. I've read a fair bit on anvils (own several blacksmithing books and such) but never owned one (a "real" one anyway) or seen many with my own eyes.

Truth be told, I've been tempted to order a new Peddinghaus, a bit due to my own acknowledgement of ignorance on how to pick out a high quality used one. I know Trenton and Peter Wright are held in high regards.

I'd love to find something 250+ lbs and would jump on a 350-500lb anvil if one showed up in the area for ~$4/lb.

As for my Reed 208, not at the moment... But I'm going back to college and so you never know lol. Paying ~$5,200/year out of pocket (plus any grants/scholarships) won't be too hard at the local community college. But once I transfer to University tuition will shoot up to around $35,000/year. Yikes. lol

 

[drivesitfar]

Filson: good luck with the schooling and i'm sure with your searching ability you'll find an anvil or anything you need. i did make a change on my post because i meant to say anvils only should used to pound hot metal on them and not cold.

maybe if i can find you a big old nice anvil we can make an anvil for a Reed 208 swap so you won't be out any cash??

you probably new that, but wanted the readers to make sure because I've seen the old guys in the past use those nice anvils to pound out a big part without heating it up. usually that is why the edges of anvils are chipped off.

 

[Filson]

Yeah I did, and I actually have a ASO (Anvil Shaped Object) I use as what I refer to as a "shop anvil". Something big and heavy that I can beat sh!t on. lol.

I'm not sure I'd trade the vise for anything unless you happened to want to trade a Bridgeport Series II Special in good condition for the vise (for whatever reason) lol. The anvil will be something I don't think I'd use a whole heck of a lot, compared to the vise. So from a utility standpoint I couldn't really bring myself to do it. Cash to help pay for college however, well, that's a worthwhile cause. Hopefully it wont come to that though haha.

... Man I need to get my Reed mounted already.

Also.. what's up with the paint job on the vise in your avatar? That's pretty crazy.

 

[Farmall450]

I agree.

$3/lb would be a good retail price for a 100-150 lb name brand anvil.

However, like vises, prices seem to be exponential one you get >150 lbs. If you can get it for $4/lb then go for it. The seller should take you seriously at that price and that would be a great find.

Agreed, therefore don't rule out one big one, yup, a grand.

 

[Jcooper816]

Guys i have a peter wright 1854 england 340lbs whats is a good selling price im located in southern ks? Anybadvice would be great i have it listed for 3000 but have an offer for 1200. I'm in a financial pinch due tontue ever elusive corona...

 

[Jcooper816]

Plz this is a 911 this is what i based my prices off of... Ebay peter wright prices on wieght it wont let me post the link or pic cuz im new to the site