I really doubt he was paying 10 bucks a pound for these- I know the guy who was making these, and he isnt rich.
These are a colonial pattern anvil, and the originals are all over 150 years old, and its almost impossible to find an old one in usable shape at this point.
Jymm Hoffman, whose anvils these were, does historical recreation blacksmithing, and he wanted a historically accurate anvil to use for demonstrations. He has been making period hardware for all the cannons and wagons at Fort Ligonier, in PA.
My guess is these were probably only running him 3 to 4 bucks a pound. My late friend Russel Jaque made anvils from 8640, which is not a whole lot cheaper than S7, and he sold them (and his widow still does) for closer to 5 bucks a pound retail. That is after casting, heat treat, and cleanup.
The trend in anvils today is cast steel of a heat treatable grade, with a target Rockwell of 50 to 55. There are at least 3 american manufacturers, along with several european ones, who are making anvils like this, and they are selling quite well.
And plenty of people plunk down over a grand for an anvil these days- most smiths like a 250lb anvil, and many are going for 400lb or 500lb models. Which usually run at least $1200 to $2000.
It is estimated there are somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 professional and amateur blacksmiths in America today.
