The Historical Value of Money

If you are like most of us, you had grandparents who said things like, “I remember back in 1935 when gas only 15 cents a gallon.”

Looking back, most everything looked like a bargain.

You might even catch yourself telling your kids that you could buy a Hershey Bar for only a quarter when you were going to school.

However, even if your memories have remained steady over the decades, the value of money hasn’t.

When you consider the adjustments due to inflation over the years, the real purchasing power of a dollar has changed considerably.

On Footnote.com you will run across many different documents that highlight prices of the day. Understanding the value of a dollar over time can give you a better sense of how people valued things.

But what’s an easy way to convert a dollar from then to today?

With the help of Wolfram|Alpha, we have created a simple calculator that will convert any price you find into the equivalent price today.

Here are some examples from documents found on Footnote.com:

• 1935 Ford V-8 Ad $495.00 (~$7,800 in 2010 dollars)
• Value of Edsel Ford’s home as listed in 1930 Census $1,300,000 (~$16.84 million in 2010 dollars)
• 1900 Louisville Slugger baseball bat $0.75 (~$19.93 in 2010 dollars)
• 1913 Steinway Piano for sale $215 (~$4,705 in 2010 dollars)
• 1872 claim made by James Gillen after the Civil War for two horses at $125 each (~$2,283 in 2010 dollars)
• 1780 Chart showing expenses for each rank in the army: Major General $3,945 (~$64,157 in 2010 dollars)
• 1989 computer advertisement for $1,785 (~$3,114 in 2010 dollars)
• 1868 The Purchase of Alaska for $7.2 million ($113 million in 2010 dollars)