ID Anvil

Indian George

Well-Known Member
I got this anvil for $1.56 @ LB. It has on it 1.4.4 which = 144 LBS. The only other marking on it is 603.
 
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Looks just like mine George.
Where your's says 603....mine has a 13. (inspector marks ?)
Mine weighed out at 149 pounds with about 2 inches of the horn missing. I Penciled the sides with a carperter pencil and found a really faded Peter Wright logo and 1-4-6 on the side you're showing in the first pic. Paid $60 4 yrs ago.
Nice find.2thumbs
I'm not sure the 1-4-6 translates directly to the weight. (stones weight?)

Rudy
 
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Using that hundredweight table doesn't work either.
It says the middle # cannot be over a 3, my middle # is definately a 4. So is your's.
It was much easier just to weigh it. So much for foriegn conversions.

Rudy
 
Using that hundredweight table doesn't work either.
It says the middle # cannot be over a 3, my middle # is definitely a 4. So is your's.
It was much easier just to weigh it. So much for foreign conversions.

Rudy

Yep!!! We weighted it when I bought it. So that's how I knew the 144 was the weight.
 
IG, I doubt that you have a Peter Wright. Try scrubbing the sides with a soap stone or chalk. The white will probably show up better than the dark pencil that Rudy used. The writing on the sides of these old anvils is rarely good and clear and many times are scared up from blacksmiths sharpening tools and striking them on the side of the anvil to see how well they cut or held up. Call it a cutting contest. First weigh you anvil and see what it actually weighs.
Most anvils in America prior to 1900 were imported from England. English Pattern anvils, or London Pattern anvils were usually stamped on the side with the name of the maker on one side and three numbers on the other side. These numbers designate the weight in Hundredweights. But a Hundredweight is not 100#, it is 112#. The first number is multiples of 112, so if the number were 2 it would stand for 224#. The second number is quarters of a Hundredweight or 28#. The third number is in actual pounds. Does that make sense to you? Because 4 quarter Hundredweights would equal 112# or 1 cwt the number 4 was not used, likewise the third number can be between 1 and 27 but not 28.
Because your number is 144 I doubt that your anvil was imported from England. I cannot explain that Rudy’s anvil has “Peter Wright” stamped into the side and 146.
Anvils made in America were copied from the English anvils and so are very similar in appearance but anvils manufactured in America did not use the Hundredweight system but stamped actual weights. There were many manufacturers in America and some did not put their name on them nor the weights. Many made anvils for resellers, such as Trenton (and others) made anvils for Sears and Roebuck under the Acme name. However, having an Acme does not necessarily mean that the anvil is a Trenton. Trenton anvils have a very long, slender heel and “Ring like a Bell”. The ring was a sign of a good anvil with good rebound. A dull sounding anvil was usually made of cast iron and was an inferior anvil. But, Fisher anvils were “Guaranteed Not To Ring”. Fisher anvils are very good anvils. Hay-Budden anvils are short and squatty. Other American manufacturers are American, Arm & Hammer, Vulcan and others.
Most of this information came from Richard Postman’s book “Anvils in America”. If you want more information on anvils I suggest that you find someone who has this book and study it. You may not learn the manufacturer of your anvil but you are sure to learn a lot about anvils in America. The book is has 550 pages, including an exhaustive index. I have always found Richard to be friendly and helpful. You can call him at 616-471-5426. This number is on the copyright page of the book so I am not giving out confidential information. You can also call him and order a copy of the book. I don’t remember what I paid for my copy but it was not prohibitive.
Now, is that more information than you needed?
 
IG since it is stamped 144 and weighs 144 pound then it is most definately an american made anvil. the shape looks like A Hay budden to me and also in the first picture there appears to be a circular deppression near the bottom. Hay buddens where almost always marked with a curcular stamp saying solid wrought. can you post a close up of the side with the horn pointing to the right. the book anvils of america is very good for use in identifying these old anvils.
 
Come to think of it, it sure does look like a Hay Budden. Never claimed to be an anvil expert- just like using 'em!
Enjoy it!
-Rob
 
Heres my #200 Peter Wright For reference:

anvil.jpg


This one better shows where the markings are on mine:
l1.jpg
 
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