# How much would it cost me to buy Manhattan island? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 14, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525 "2003-04-14T01:19:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/1 "2003-04-14T01:19:15Z")
How much would it cost me to buy Manhattan island? How much has it’s value increased, since it was purchased by the first Europeans from the Indians originally? This is in IMHO, as I don’t envisage there being definitive answers to this, and I don’t want to restrict this to factual answers from the OP only. Well, what do you think? I’m interested! Give me your best guesses. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/2 "2003-04-14T01:48:28Z")
I do recall that the Dutch bought it off the Indians in 1626 for [60 Guilders](http://www.nnp.org/documents/schagen_main.html), whatever that may be today. Then, [in 1667](http://www.cvexp.org/newsltr/surinm99.htm), we traded it for Suriname. Which was worth maybe 75 Guilders, but it had bauxite, so it was obviously a good trade! :smack: So, my best guess is that since we owned the island for 41 years, and it apprecated 15 Guilders over that time, that the annual appreciation of Manhattan is 36.58 Guilder cents. 336 years have passed, meaning Manhattan has appreciated 122 Guilders and 91 cents. Add to this the value when traded of 75, and you have 197.10. In Euros, that’s 89.81, which is $96.37. We’ll make it an even $100, and the place is yours. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/3 "2003-04-14T01:56:11Z")
Wow! Great links, **Coldfire**. That original purchase document is amazing. So, if the Dutch had retained ownership, then NYC would be called NAC - New Amsterdam City? ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/4 "2003-04-14T01:57:02Z")
Tell ya what ahm a gonna do…I cain’t really git you the island, but, you see that bridge over thar… ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/5 "2003-04-14T02:07:09Z")
$100…? hmm I’ll have to think about it. But seriously, what would it’s value be, now? Or is it so complex that it is impossible to calculate? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/6 "2003-04-14T03:17:45Z")
Well since I’m really bored I tried to calculate the purchase price of many major purchases over the years in todays numbers. I assumed an inflation rate of 4% constant, so here at the U.S. flea market the current prices are: Manhattan: 158 million 1803 Louisanna purchase: 38 billion 1866 Alaska: 1.5 Billion 1848 cessation treaty from mexico territory: 7.8 billion 1853 Gadsen Purchase: 3.5 billion Personally I’m gonna spend my money on Alaska. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/7 "2003-04-14T03:20:17Z")
oops that Manhattan price is in Guilders ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/8 "2003-04-14T04:26:40Z")
[The master speaks.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_156.html) ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/9 "2003-04-14T04:28:53Z")
:smack: Why didn’t I check? Thank you, elfebabe! ---
**Author:** ![garius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e19b73/32.png) [@garius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garius)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/10 "2003-04-14T10:21:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*I do recall that the Dutch bought it off the Indians in 1626 for [60 Guilders](http://www.nnp.org/documents/schagen_main.html), whatever that may be today. > > Then, [in 1667](http://www.cvexp.org/newsltr/surinm99.htm), we traded it for Suriname. Which was worth maybe 75 Guilders, but it had bauxite, so it was obviously a good trade! :smack: > \*\* Damn. I should stop spending my lunch break trying to sell Tower Bridge to Yank Tourists and try the Dutch ones instead 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/11 "2003-04-14T14:30:17Z")
Why would you want him? He’d probably just put on that foofy hat and walk around shouting “BANNED! LOCKED!” and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/12 "2003-04-14T15:53:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samarm \* > \*\*So, if the Dutch had retained ownership, then NYC would be called NAC - New Amsterdam City? \*\* It was called _Nieuw Amsterdam_ when we held it. And chances are that had we not sold it, you and I would not be conversing in English right now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/13 "2003-04-14T16:47:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*It was called _Nieuw Amsterdam_ when we held it. And chances are that had we not sold it, you and I would not be conversing in English right now. 😉 \*\* Why’d they change it? I can’t say - People just liked it better that way. Besides, it serves you right for kicking the Swedes out of Delaware. It’s not like you were using it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2003, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-would-it-cost-me-to-buy-manhattan-island/168525/14 "2003-04-14T16:55:02Z")
> [@](#): > > So, if the Dutch had retained ownership, then NYC would be called NAC - New Amsterdam City? Probably not New Amsterdam, nor even Nieuw Amsterdam. You see, despite all of Coldy’s head-smoting smilies, the Dutch got something of a “do-over” in 1673. France and the Netherlands were at war, and the Brits backed the French. So the Dutch retook New York with a show of arms in NY harbor. The place was – again – renamed **New Orange** (Nieuw Orange?), and presumably would have remained so had the English not gotten it back a year later, after a treaty was signed. So I guess you could say that the Dutch blew it _twice._ [Smilie.]