My 'shingle' comes down..

[ironglow]

Passing my entire smithy to my grandson, even the building will be gone..

  ..But not to despair, it will live on at my grandson's shop

    He even took the old weather beaten VILLAGE BLACKSMITH sign from over the door, and put it up inside his shop.

  He moved the anvil silhouette from the door to his shop exterior.

  Even tacked up the old Mail Pouch enameled steel sign on the end of his shop.

   

[BUGEYE]

I’ve seen some beautiful examples of your work from there.
That fence on your Church altar was mind boggling.

[Dee]

Passing my entire smithy to my grandson, even the building will be gone..

  ..But not to despair, it will live on at my grandson's shop

    He even took the old weather beaten VILLAGE BLACKSMITH sign from over the door, and put it up inside his shop.

  He moved the anvil silhouette from the door to his shop exterior.

  Even tacked up the old Mail Pouch enameled steel sign on the end of his shop.

 

I've retired 4 times. Just hasn't stuck. Good luck with yours.

[ironglow]

Oh , I kept some equipment..a small forge , my anvil and a stand for each..along with a couple belt grinders, 3 angle grinders and various hammers and tongs.  ..But most all the rest is gone..

  That old 'shingle', the Village Blacksmith sign, was over my door for about 23-24 years.
   ..And when he looked it up and found what that Mail Pouch sign was worth, he figures if he were in a different neighborhood, he wouldn't be able to leave it there..

  However, where he lives is a good, farm neighborhood.  ..And his log home is in a spruce grove, with a clear field of fire all around.   

[Dee]

Not being a tobacco chewer I don remember seeing Mail Pouch on the shelves. In my day it was Beachnut, Redman, and various others. Mail Pouch could have been in the mix.

Those old signs we used to shoot at are now worth thousands, especially the porcelain ones.

[ironglow]

  ..And it  seems that being beat up like that one, doesn't hurt their value very much.

    About 25 years ago, when I moved here where I live, I found that out in the weeds.

  There once was a man whose whole job was painting barns with the Mail Pouch ads.  They were once very
   common around here..   In fact until a few years ago, there was such a sign on a barn where the cheese
   factory is now being built !
  On the barn, they are considered quite valuable..so much so, I suspect some are being freshly repainted.

[ironglow]

  " The old sign painter from the far away hills"...  The last of the breed.. 10 min video.

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcD5aHZM8uQ