Purchasing Power Of Pound - Measuring Worth

Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1270 to Present

Enter initial year before entering the initial amount.
using: Retail Price Index Average Earnings
	1270 to 1970	1971 to Present
	Initial Year *:	Initial Year *:
	Initial Amount: pounds shillings pence	Initial Amount: £
	Desired Year **:
* Select initial year within 1270-1970 range or within 1971-Present range to activate the initial amount field.
** Select desired year between 1245 and Present.
Enter data as a number without a £ sign or commas.
Why not the current year? Why Not the Latest Observations? We use annual data for our computations, therefore, it is necessary to have an annual observation for both the initial year and the desired year. For the indices based on GDP, it is only after the year is over that GDP can be measured. For price indices, the annual observations are usually the average of monthly observations. It would not be valid to compare a monthly observation in the current year with an annual observation in an earlier year. We have created many of the historical series in MeasuringWorth, but the most recent observations are obtained from government agencies. The annual CPI and RPI observations are usually published in the first month or two of the next year, however the numbers for GDP do not come out until later. We strive to get the new numbers up as quickly as possible. Close

A Purchasing Power Comparator compares the relative value of a past amount of pounds to a present amount. A simple comparator uses only the prices of consumer purchases to do this whereas a complete purchasing power calculator, such as found in this website, uses various prices, wages, output, etc., depending on the context. For more information on this issue, consult Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1830 to Present where you will also find a further discussion of this issue.

The answers you get from this comparator will be the same as those from the Relative Value comparator. That is, you will get the "simple" purchasing power calculator result and other choices that may be better depending on the context.

To determine the value of an amount of money in a particular ("original") year compared to another ("desired") year, enter the values in the appropriate places below. For example, you may want to know: How much money would you need in the year 2000, to have the same "purchasing power" as £1 5s 3d in the year 1900. If you entered these values in the correct places, you will find that the "simple purchasing power" answer is £81.19.

Note that prior to February 15, 1971 ("Decimal day," or "D-day"), monetary amounts in the U.K. were expressed as pounds (£), shillings (s.) and pence (d.), where £1 = 20s. = 240d. After 1970, there were 100 pennies in a pound, so one (new) penny = 2.4 old pence. All numbers should be entered as a decimal rather than in fractional form (for example, 1.5 rather than 1 1/2).

Citation

"Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1270 to Present," MeasuringWorth, . URL: www.measuringworth.com/ppoweruk/

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