2006-07-20 09:02:03 · 6 answers · asked by megan 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Other - Business & Finance
In 1904 when the NYC subway opened the cost of a fare was $.05 incidentally this was also the price of a slice of pizza. Today both run around $2 or 40 times what they did a century ago. Inflation was not as pervasive in the 19th century as it was in the 20th because the dollar was backed by bulllion (initially gold, later silver). Still it's probably not unreasonable to say that your $7.50 in 1883 could buy about 50 times what it could today ($375).
Keep in mind though that no figure is going to be entirely accurate. Things that we take for granted today like milk cost $1 at the turn of the century. This is because they didn't have the means to refrigerate it. Imagine today, paying $40 for a gallon!?!
Property was also cheaper. There were less than half as many people living in the country so there was plenty of land to go around. $7.50 would probably get you a piece of real estate, but not a house. Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of "Little House on the Prarie" bought herself a house and some farmland in the midwest (Missouri, I think) around the time in question for about $100.
Hope that helps.
2006-07-20 09:27:40 · answer #1 · answered by joelfeig 2 · 9⤊ 2⤋
$7.50 in 1883 dollars would have been equivalent to $143.35 in 2005 dollars. So think about all the things you can buy with $143.35, and that's what you can buy with $7.50 in 1883.
2006-07-20 09:17:30 · answer #2 · answered by Tim 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm guessing that it was probably enough money to buy a nice piece of property!
2006-07-20 09:05:19 · answer #3 · answered by bettywitdabigbooty 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
about 50 beers
2006-07-20 09:06:25 · answer #4 · answered by randy j 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
750 pieces of penny candy
2006-07-20 09:05:40 · answer #5 · answered by bkemt6 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
probably a house..
2006-07-20 09:05:24 · answer #6 · answered by ray of sunshine 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋