December 9: $1 in 1800, adjusted for inflation

Source: Official Data Foundation, Federal Reserve History
Published: December 2021, November 2013

$1 in 1800, adjusted for inflation

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for $1 in 1800. If you started with $1 in 1800, you would need about $22 in 2021 in order to “adjust” for inflation (sometimes referred to as “beating inflation”).

The noticeable inflection point occurred in August 1971 when President Richard Nixon unpegged the U.S. dollar from gold, meaning U.S. dollars could no longer be converted to gold at a fixed exchange rate of $35 an ounce (in effect since 1958). Overnight the dollar became fiat money, which is government-issued money that isn’t backed by a physical commodity such as gold.

Bonus: Want to learn more about inflation? I just finished reading Ray Dalio’s Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order which dives into the topic in greater depth.