# Historic Exchange Rates **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 1, 2001, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350 "2001-12-01T19:27:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nausicaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@Nausicaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nausicaa)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350/1 "2001-12-01T19:27:36Z")
Math people I need your help! In 1912 I have 5 shillings and 4 pence, so today that is worth 16 pounds, 39 shillings and that is worth $23.08. Is that correct? (Knowing my math skills probably not.) Can someone verify this for me? Thanks! Nausicaa ---
**Author:** ![Etaoin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c2a13f/32.png) [@Etaoin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etaoin)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350/2 "2001-12-01T20:28:30Z")
Is that pounds sterling, as in U.K.? Is that U.S. dollars? If U.K., is that strict conversion into decimal currency? Is it relevent that s 1912 shilling, if melted for its silver, probably would be worth $999,999,999.69 Canadian? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350/3 "2001-12-01T20:42:01Z")
And at any rate, “16 pounds, 39 shillings” is an odd way to express a monetary amount. In the old system, 20 shillings made a pound, so that would actually be 17 pounds, 19 shillings. Do you mean 16 pounds, 39 (new) pence in modern day UK currency? If so, the exchange rate today is 1.4255 dollars per pound according to one source, so I get $23.36. $23.08 may well have been right at the exchange rate from the time you were posting. ---
**Author:** ![Nausicaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@Nausicaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nausicaa)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2001, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350/4 "2001-12-01T21:23:41Z")
What I am looking for is a conversion from the 1912 currency (pounds, shillings, pence) to today’s pound sterling and then convert that to American dollars. Am I asking too much? (I swear I found a site that did that but can I find it again? No, of course not!) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2001, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350/5 "2001-12-02T00:02:38Z")
I believe that in 1912 an English pound was equivalent to $5. US at the time. Does that help? ---
**Author:** ![jcgmoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@jcgmoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcgmoi)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2001, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350/6 "2001-12-02T03:14:02Z")
[The very site:](http://www.eh.net/ehresources/howmuch/poundq.php) > [@](#): > > £16.39 in the year 2001 has the same “purchase power” as £, 5s, 4d in the year 1912. Yahoo offers [a currency converter.](http://finance.yahoo.com/m5?a=1&s=GBP&t=USD) As of Friday, £1 equals $1.42 so your 1912 sum equals $23.28. Could change Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2001, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350/7 "2001-12-02T18:32:17Z")
Please note that there are two ways of doing this: First, you could convert the amount of British currency in 1912 to the equivalent amount of British currency in 2001 using a conversion figure that calculates how much the cost of living in the U.K. has increased in the meantime. Then you can convert this to American currency using the exchange rate of 2001. Second, you could convert the amount of British currency in 1912 to American currency in 1912 using the exchange rate of 1912. Then you can convert this to American currency in 2001 using a conversion figure that calculates how much the cost of living in the U.S. has increased. Surprisingly, these two figures are not always equal. ---
**Author:** ![Nausicaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@Nausicaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nausicaa)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/historic-exchange-rates/96350/8 "2001-12-03T01:03:52Z")
Thanks guys! I’m doing a paper for college and this will help out a lot! N