Was reading an old farrier manual from the 1800s and saw they used to charge 25 cents a shoe

Found it at a used book sale in Omaha, and the price list for a full set of shoes was a dollar. My apprentice asked if we could go back to those rates. What's the most surprising old-time fact you've come across in this trade?

4 comments

4 Comments

barnes.stella2mo ago

My grandpa's old account book from his blacksmith shop in the 1930s showed he charged fifty cents to sharpen a plowshare. That was a big job with a forge and hammer. I showed my cousin, and he just stared at the page, trying to figure out how you'd even pay bills. The wildest thing to me was finding a note about sometimes taking a chicken as payment if times were really hard.

smith.parker2mo ago

But that fifty cents was serious money back then. A loaf of bread cost about eight cents. So sharpening a plowshare bought a week's worth of food for a family. The chicken barter just shows how they made sure everyone could get their work done, even when cash was tight. It was a different system, but it worked for its time.

logan_mitchell1mo agoMost Upvoted

Have you ever tried bartering for something today? It feels awkward at first, but most people are willing to trade for a skill or item you can offer. Just keep it simple and fair, like swapping a couple hours of manual labor for a repair job.

drewr152mo ago

Wasn't there a whole barter economy back then? I read somewhere that doctors and lawyers would take crops or livestock too... just to keep things moving.

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