Is this the absolute best of the best 65 HRC german anvil from the most expensive brand? No.
Does this absolutely get the job done for 95-99% of people? yes
I highly recommend this anvil for anyone who is starting out blacksmithing or just needs something hard to fix things on. Mine had some defects, but still works perfectly fine. I have made high quality damascus stuff on this anvil, and am planning on ordering a couple more. In my opinion, better than the alternative Doyle anvil from harbor freight which I also own. HRC tested this with my files and it came out to an avg of 53 HRC. Slightly lower than advertised, but the main anvil section was 57 HRC, better than advertised.