Daily AncestorHistorical money value calculator
To compare an old dollar amount with today, multiply it by the ratio of consumer price indexes: $1 in 1850 bought about what $38.70 bought in 2025.
Wills, estate inventories, land deeds, and pension files are full of dollar amounts that mean little at first glance. Was a $300 farm sale a fortune or a modest deal? This calculator converts an amount from any year between 1800 and 2025 into 2025 dollars, using the consumer price index series published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
The answer tells you what that sum could buy in everyday goods. It is a good first step, and the sections below explain where it stops being the right measure.
How to use it
- Type the dollar amount from the record.
- Choose the year the record was written, not the year you found it.
- Read the value in 2025 dollars.
- Compare the result with other amounts from the same place and time, such as wages or land prices, before drawing conclusions.
Worked examples
$1 in 1850
$1 in 1850 buys about what $38.70 bought in 2025. Before 1913 the price index is a historian's estimate.
The index stood at 25 in 1850 and 967.5 in 2025 (1967 = 100). The ratio, about 38.7, is the multiplier.
$1,500 estate inventory in 1800
$1,500 in 1800 buys about what $28,500 bought in 2025. Before 1913 the price index is a historian's estimate.
Prices were relatively high in 1800 (index 51), so the multiplier is smaller than for 1850. Results of $10,000 or more are rounded to three significant figures, which also suits the rough pre-1913 figures.
$300 land sale in 1862
$300 in 1862 buys about what $9,675 bought in 2025. Before 1913 the price index is a historian's estimate.
Prices rose fast during the Civil War. A sale dated a year or two later would convert to noticeably less.
$12 pension payment in 1900
$12 in 1900 buys about what $464 bought in 2025. Before 1913 the price index is a historian's estimate.
A small monthly sum on paper, but enough to matter in a household where cash was scarce.
What the calculator measures
A consumer price index tracks the average change in prices that households pay for a basket of everyday goods and services. The calculator multiplies your amount by the index for 2025 and divides by the index for the record's year. That is the same formula the Minneapolis Fed gives for its own table.
The official Bureau of Labor Statistics index begins in 1913. For earlier years the Minneapolis Fed joins older series built by economic historians: a Vermont farm price index from 1800, then indexes by Ethel Hoover and Albert Rees. Treat any pre-1913 result as a careful estimate.
What it does not tell you
Prices of goods are only one way to measure value. The consumer price index leaves out land, houses, and investments, so it cannot tell you what a farm would sell for today. Land values in your ancestor's county may have risen far more or far less than general prices.
It also says nothing about how hard money was to earn. Suppose a farm hand in your ancestor's county earned about a dollar a day. Converted by prices alone, that sounds like a small daily wage, but measured against what a working family earned, a $300 sale could equal a year or more of labor. For a fuller picture, find local wages from the same years. The 1850, 1860, and 1870 census social statistics schedules record average wages for farm hands, day laborers, carpenters, and female domestics.
Using it on wills, inventories, and land sales
An estate inventory totaled in the thousands tells you the family owned more than most of its neighbors; one totaled in tens of dollars tells you something different. Converting the totals helps you compare households across decades, but compare within a single county and decade whenever you can. Before about 1792, and in some places for years after, amounts may be in pounds, shillings, and pence, which need a different conversion first.
Questions people ask
How much is $1 in 1850 worth today?
About $38.70 in 2025 dollars, measured by consumer prices. Measured against wages or land, the answer would be different, often much larger.
Is there a historical currency converter for old dollars?
Yes. The calculator above uses the Minneapolis Fed consumer price index table for 1800 to 2025. Enter the amount and the year of the record.
Why are values before 1913 less exact?
The government began publishing the consumer price index in 1913. Earlier years come from price series that historians rebuilt from surviving records, so they are estimates.
How do I figure out what my ancestor's land was worth?
Look for other land sales in the same county and decade, in deed books and tax lists. Land prices did not follow consumer prices closely, so the calculator is only a rough guide here.
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Historical money value calculator." Tools. https://dailyancestor.com/tools/money-value-calculator. Last checked 2026-10-15.