Anvil Purchased At Auction Weighs More Than Buyer's Car

A blacksmith has purchased a 500-pound antique Peter Wright anvil at auction without first considering how to transport it, install it, or explain to his wife why the garage can no longer accommodate her vehicle.

The anvil, manufactured in Dudley, England, circa 1890, was acquired by Pete Hammerton for $2,800 after what he describes as "competitive bidding driven by emotion rather than logistics."

"In the auction house, it was just a beautiful anvil," Hammerton recalled. "In my driveway, it was a 500-pound problem."

The transportation required a rented flatbed truck and a forklift borrowed from a neighbor's construction company. The installation required the construction of a custom oak stump, the reinforcement of the garage floor, and a conversation with his wife that Hammerton rates as "more challenging than the forklift operation."

"She asked where her car would go," Hammerton said. "I explained that the anvil is a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition and that cars depreciate while anvils appreciate. She was not persuaded."

The anvil now occupies the center of the garage on a 200-pound oak stump, surrounded by Hammerton's existing tools. His wife's car is in the driveway, where it has been for six weeks.

Hammerton reports that the anvil's rebound is "magnificent" and its ring "musical" — two qualities he acknowledges are difficult to appreciate from inside the house, where his wife reports hearing the anvil's ring from every room, at all hours.

He is currently researching soundproofing options, which he expects will cost approximately as much as the anvil itself.