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?

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/

Please let us know if and how this discussion has assisted you in using our comparators.