Letter "V" on a huge old anvil

Sep 25, 2008 16 Replies

An auction is coming up. It is something unusual, because most of their stuff is huge 1940s machines. I have never seen so much old stuff in one place. Anyway, I no longer buy anything for resale, did not need those machines, so I just carefully went through everything just in case if I can find something that I would want for myself.



One item attracted my attention, it was a huge anvil:



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It is hard to guess its size by just looking at the picture. My best guess, looking at the cart to the right, and the shear behind it which should be about 4x4 feet, is that the anvil is between 2 and 3 feet long.



It has a letter V cast on it.



Would anyone be able to recognize who made it and what would I expect to pay for it. Also, how much could it weigh? It is a couple of hours away from me and preview is not practical.


My guess is 350 pounds and that it is 3 feet long or a little more. The "V" could stand for Vulcan. It looks to be in pretty good shape from here. It looks about the same size as the one I use at the Minnesota State Fair. You can see a bunch of anvils if you go to my anvil page at: >

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If you do, be sure to read the text! Sorry that I don't have a scale in the pictures. Maybe I'll fix that in the future.

You didn't ask, but used anvils routinely go for $2 per pound, with really good ones or especially collectable ones going for $3 or more.

There are many new anvils being manufactured these days, so if a person wants one, they don't have to find an old one if the need one.

Pete Stanaitis

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Ignoramus18870 wrote:

Very nice.

I kind of like that one, there is a top tool steel plate forge welded on it, etc and it seems to be in decent shape. I have a few days off work that I could use until the end of the year, and traveling to get that anvil would be a good way to spend one such day. I will bid on it.

Thank you.

i

all it needs is new casters and a paint job.

Those are your only two thoughs, so they're easy to predict.

In alt.crafts.blacksmithing Cydrome Leader wrote: (snip)

Wonderful, I have to kill-file you here too.

Done.

I did not expect you to predict anything hard.

That's a nice looking anvil, although probably not a Vulcan. Vulcan always used the "Arm and Hammer" logo (never a "V") which was also used by (oddly enough) Arm and Hammer. Also, generally speaking, the Vulcan bases and top plates were much thicker than shown in your pic.

I could find no other references to an anvil marked with a "V."

For an unknown manufacturer: $1.00/Lb. max.

If I was buying this for my own use I'd make the trip.

dennis in nca

I have put in a bid, I will see how it goes, thanks

Anvil identification help:

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guide -- purchasing an anvil:
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Clearly an ACME, the V marks the spot where the coyote is supposed to stand prior to it landing.

jk

Hmmmmm....another fallacy discovered. One sheet of Bounty won't pick-up even a whole mouthfull of coffee.

I think you may have started something here:

Hay -Budden (and perhaps Columbus Forge) built anvils for Sears around the turn of the (19th-20th) century and Sears used the name "Acme" on their anvils. Unfortunatly they only used a small "Acme" as their logo.

However, while looking this up I see there was a company, around the same time period, by the name of Village Forge who also had their anvils produced by Columbus Forge. Although I've seen no record of the logo used I would note the pattern of Columbus Forge anvils looks very much like the one in iggy's photo.

My best guess at this time then would be it's a Village Forge anvil, produced for them around 1900, or shortly thereafter (maybe "The Roadrunner" ordered one because Sears was out of stock?).

dennis in nca

Todd Rich wrote in news:gbgbme$nj1$ snipped-for-privacy@reader1.panix.com:

One good thing about XNews: when you plonk an idiot on one group you've done it for all groups.

I've only seen echos of his existance during the last decade.

When rigger put fingers to keys it was 9/26/08 1:22 PM...

Hmmm. My ACME has just that stamped in an arc in the side. I'd long wondered where it came from.

"Sears has (had?) everything."

dennis in nca

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