# how much is million UK pounds in 1791 worth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 11, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311 "2006-09-11T17:28:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/1 "2006-09-11T17:28:37Z")
Hi. I’m reading Paine’s Rights of Man and he does some back of the envelope budgetting for a welfare state. Just for reference what’s a pounds from 1791 about worth now? I assume there’s several ways to figure that, but what might be the range? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/2 "2006-09-11T17:32:50Z")
sorry…should say “what’s a thousand [or million] pounds” ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/3 "2006-09-11T17:36:10Z")
IIRC a sovereign (gold pound coin) contained about a quarter ounce of gold, so to get a very rough idea you can think of what the price of a quarter ounce of gold would buy today, and multiply that by a million. A million pounds was an astronomical sum in 1791. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/4 "2006-09-11T17:36:30Z")
In 1791, a UK pound was worth [US$4.55](http://eh.net/hmit/exchangerates/pounda.php). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/5 "2006-09-11T17:39:03Z")
[This site](http://eh.net/hmit/ppowerbp/) compares purchasing power, and says £88m. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/6 "2006-09-11T17:39:32Z")
Forgot the other half: and today, $4.55 in 1791 would be worth about [$94.06](http://eh.net/hmit/compare/result.php?use%5B%5D=DOLLAR&use%5B%5D=GDPDEFLATION&use%5B%5D=UNSKILLED&use%5B%5D=NOMGDPCP&use%5B%5D=NOMINALGDP&amount2=&year2=&year_result=2005&amount=4.55&year_source=1791) using the Consumer Price Index. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/7 "2006-09-11T17:40:47Z")
Can’t find numbers for 1790, but from [this site](http://eh.net/hmit/ukcompare/) £1 in 1830 gives you anywhere from £66 to £2400 in 2004 ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/8 "2006-09-11T17:42:02Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] In 1791, a UK pound was worth [US$4.55](http://eh.net/hmit/exchangerates/pounda.php). [/QUOTE] thanks. so when I use this page: [http://eh.net/hmit/compare/](http://eh.net/hmit/compare/) to see what US$4.55 from 1791 is for now it get answers from $95 to over $250,000. Anybody have insight on what that means? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/9 "2006-09-11T17:44:02Z")
Ah, elsewhere on that site I got this: > [@](#): > > £66,005,519.50 using the retail price index > £81,984,375.00 using the GDP deflator > £713,419,804.78 using average earnings > £967,556,911.81 using per capita GDP > £2,430,979,123.17 using the GDP ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/10 "2006-09-11T17:47:59Z")
[QUOTE=drhess] thanks. so when I use this page: [http://eh.net/hmit/compare/](http://eh.net/hmit/compare/) to see what US$4.55 from 1791 is for now it get answers from $95 to over $250,000. Anybody have insight on what that means? [/QUOTE] There’s explanations elsewhere on that site, which made my eyes glaze over very quickly 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![drhess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@drhess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drhess)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/11 "2006-09-11T17:48:56Z")
Since Paine was talking about money needed to provide basic living and schooling expenses, I assume that maybe the first two figures from that site are a good basis. Although the wages calculation seems plausible since the money is in theory meant to keep people at a subsitence level like a basic wage substitute. Hmm… ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-million-uk-pounds-in-1791-worth/372311/12 "2006-09-11T17:52:17Z")
[QUOTE=drhess] I get answers from $95 to over $250,000. Anybody have insight on what that means? [/QUOTE] IANAEconomist, but it’s comparing different things such as: Retail price index (RPI) - how much beer does beer cost? GDP deflator - how much does it cost to to keep a family of four (families in 1790 didn’t have cell phones bills etc) Average earnings - fairly obvious GDP - how wealthy is the country as a whole (including government spending)