Vintage Weights & Physical Culture

I have really enjoyed following Facebook Groups:

Vintage Weights & Physical Culture

Vintage York Barbell Owners

Vintage Weightlifting Swap

As a lifter, I have more bumpers than I could ever lift.  

However, after following these threads I got hooked on scouring the market for Vintage Iron plates and dumbbells.  Mostly it is the thrill of the hunt.  If I find damn near anything interesting at $1/lb I will purchase it.  Whether that be York round heads, globe dumbbells, branded Olympic 2 inch plates or really unique and interesting to me Standard 1 inch plates (Ferrigno plates with India stamp).

Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder.  I would not care to own Vintage barbells (unless they are the strongman style with globes on both ends).  I am not willing to pay Fair Market Prices for Vintage York, Jackson or Zuver's Deep Dish.  The prices of which are starting at $10/pound and escalating quickly.

Hell, I am not even willing to pay the $500 for Rogue Deep Dish Plates (2 pairs of 45# delivered to my door).  I did consider the LeMaster 45#.  I think those were on the order of 1 pair for $300 delivered to my door.

The demand is certainly there.  Folks are willing to pay $1000 for a pair of Vintage York Deep Dish 45s.  

The round head dumbbell series from 1-12 lb and 15-100 lb has collectors filling gaps at $5/pound.  Even I got caught up in the excitement buying 20-20-25 at $2/lb; 7-7 at $1/lb and 50 at $1.60/lb.  I really want to drive down to Colorado Springs to get a 5-5 at $1/lb.  

For me, the problem is that I do not train with dumbbells often and when I do, I prefer rubber hex heads and pro style dumbbells that can take some abuse.  The York dumbbells are pretty, but I see as many pictures of pairs with straight handles as I do of pairs with bent handles.

Personally, I will continue to scour the wild for vintage weights and physical culture items.  The only purchase I would stretch for would be a globe dumbbell weighing between 60 and 100 pounds.  There is a pair of 75# York Globes on Ebay for $1000 in Henderson Nevada and while $6/pound may be fair, I cannot stomach it.  

I will also continue to look for strongman equipment.  There is a mystique associated with anvils, scale weights and other implements to demonstrate feats of strength.