Average U.S. retail food prices (looking for other countries?)
[1600-1860]
The Value of a Dollar: Colonial Era to the Civil War, prices
extracted from advertisements, newspapers, commodities listings, and personal inventories.
Earliest prices are expressed in pence/colonial scrip. Food units are generally for large quantities,
not comparable to modern supermarket prices.
[1720-1775]
Average wholesale prices of
selected commodities in Philadelphia (go to p. 46), includes bread, corn, rice, pork, flour, beef, salt, molases & rum.
Currency is expressed in Pennsylvania shillings. [NOTE: Source document for these prices is Prices in Colonial Pennyslvania,
Anne Bezanson, et al, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1935. Book contains detailed economic analysis as well as charts.]
[1860-2009]
The Value of A Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States,
selected food prices extracted from
advertisements and federal data [NOTE: Value of a Dollar books are available in most
public libraries. In the back of this book you will find charts for selected items listing both historic prices and prices expressed in 2007 dollars.]
[1890-1970]
Basic
commodities (go to page 31): average retail prices of eggs, bread, flour, milk,
beef, potatoes, coffee, butter, bacon &c., reported by the federal government
[1900-present]
How much did food cost in Morris
County, NJ? 1900+...also cars, clothing, housing, furniture, recreation, etc.
[1980-present]
Average retail food prices
--by product and region
[2008]
Food CPI & Food
Price Outlook
Factors in Food Commodity Price Increases
Topical price reports
[18th century] Early American Tavern menu prices
[19th century] American pioneer
provision prices
[1849] Retail food costs, California gold miners
[Civil war] Civil war price fluxuations
[20th century] American restaurant menu prices
[20th century] Baseball stadium concession prices
Coca Cola vs. Pepsi
The "Hershey Bar Index"
Kellogg's Corn Flakes
McDonald's hamburgers
Nabisco's Oreos
Additional considerations
The problem with comparing historic prices
Inflation calculators
Wartime prices
Inflation calculators
Colonial American tavern prices
Pricing notes here:
"The fare in a rural tavern...was simple, whatever the tavern keeper had on hand for his/her own
family and was willing to share...The prices charged for food (and nearly everything else) in a
licensed tavern were regulated by law. Tavern keepers were even required in some areas to
distinguish between a "good" meal and a "common" one. However, whatever the quality of the
food served, the proprietor was allowed to charge a predetermined price...On December 28,
1785, the day Thomas Allen...opened the doors to his new City Coffee House in New London,
Connecticut, Allen recorded the prices he intended to charge his customers in...his day book.
Breakfast, dinner, and supper were the same price, one shilling and six pence...At Allen, the meals
were seldom as expensive as the drink sold...Dinners in many urban taverns were, following
English custom, offered as "ordinarys"...meaning a prepared meal open to the public offered at an
established time for a set rate...Dishes, in some cases, were passed communally and not available
as individual portions...The Indian King in Philadelphia...offered "a regular ordinary every Day, of
the very best provisions and well dressed at 12d a head...'...Congressman Samuel Read wrote his
wife in 1775: We sit in Congress generally till half-past three o'clock, and once till five o'clock,
and then I dine at City Tavern, where a few of us have established a table for each day in the
week, save Saturday when there is a general dinner....A dinner is ordered for the number, eight,
and whatever is deficient of that number is to be paid for at two shillings and six pence a head,
and each that attends pays only the expense of the day."
Sample New Jersey prices:
[1784]
[1806]
A note about wartime food prices:
During World War II the Office of Price Adminstration (1942-1945) set the prices of various
consumer goods to stabilize the economy in the United States. Ration books were used to
purchase many items. Most countries involved in WWII also rationed food and regulated prices.
Dates, prices and food items varied according to availability. In Great Britain food
rationing was the managed by the Ministry of Food. Cookbooks published during war years
provide a wealth of information on prices, menus and rationing.
War ration
book, New Jersey
How can we find prices of popular items through the centuries to
make comparison
charts?
About food prices & weights If you want to make price comparisons in modern times you also have to pay close attention
to changes in weights and measures. Package sizes/weights of popular consumer goods (candy
bars, canned products, cereal boxes) vary greatly over the years.
Historic restaurant prices
Old menus are the best place to find historic restaurant prices. The trick is to find ones from the
type of restaurant you need (Steak house? Family-style chain? Roadside diner? Outdoor lobster
shack? Railroad dining car? World's fair?) in the place/time you are studying. This is not an easy
task. Very few old menus are uploaded to the Internet. Start here:
Local restaurant prices
Breakfast cereal: the Kellogg's Corn Flake study
About Kellogg's: In the beginning, Kellogg's patented foods were served exclusively to the residents of the Battle Creek Sanitarium.
According to the records of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Kellogg brand cereals were introduced to the American
public May 1, 1907. A little taste of history. An interesting byproduct of this study was discovering the timeliness of Kellogg's advertising. In the earliest years,
Kellogg's Corn Flakes were touted for their healthful properties as aids to digestion. During the Great Depression and WWII,
Corn Flakes were promoted as meat fillers and milk extenders. In the 1950s and 1960s they were familiar, filling, and fun for afterschool and bedtime snacks. During the health-conscious
1970s these unpretentious flakes led the crusade. Ads laid low during the 1980s-1990s, when pre-sweetened cereals prolifertated. In the 2000s, as we warily watch American corn crops diverted to ethanol production,
Kellogg's prices rise again. What story will these prices tell 10 years from now?
ABOUT THESE PRICES
How much did a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes cost?
Coca Cola & Pepsi prices
A note about canned soda:
"Coca-Cola had tested their product in cans as early as 1940. They tried a 16-ounce and 32-ounce
cone top can with a red, green and white logo that read "canned specially for use at home and on
outings." Coca-Cola began selling cans to overseas armed services in 1955 and, in 1959, test
marketed cans in five U.S. cities. By 1960, however, it was Royal Crown that was selling the
most canned soft drinks. Inspired by the new competition, Coca-Cola began using and promoting
cans on a large scale soon thereafter. The soft drink maker even introduced a new label design
specifically for their canned product called the "Harlequin" which featured a pattern of diamonds
and proved popular with consumers."
Survey of historic U.S. prices for Coca Cola and Pepsi
[1886]
[1887-1959] According to the book Value of a Dollar the price of Coca Cola
(by the glass or bottle) was five cents. This book extracts its information from advertisements.
[1942] Advertisement placed in the Daily Record [Morristown, NJ] newspaper,
Pepsi .05/bottle
If you need to obtain a price for a Coke or Pepsi for specific location/time your best bet is to
check old newspapers for grocery store advertisements. Your local public librarian can help you
identify/obtain old newspapers. Large national papers (New York Times) contained food
advertisements in the early years. These are searchable via databases.
If you are studying the "Cola Wars" (competition between Coca Cola and Pepsi) we recommend:
General company histories:
The "Hershey Bar Index"
The Hershey Company was kind enough to supply us with price/weight data for their
famous Hershey Bar from 1908-1986:
[1991] .45 NOTE: The Value of a Dollar book includes charts illustrating both historic price and price in 2007 dollars (price/oz).
Great Depression vs. WWII
"Nickel candy bars still cost a nickel. But their cost has soared since CU last tested them in 1939. That's a paradox only until you
examine the facts. The paradox vanishes with the words, "hidden price rise." Here's an example of how the hidden price rise works
for candy bars. Let's say you are in the habit of buying Mars' Forever Yours candy bars. Chances are that you haven't noticed
any appreciable difference in bars you've been buying for the past four years. But had you --like CU--saved the labels, here's what you'd
find: in 1939 your nickel bought four ounces of Forever Yours. Now the nickel bar weighs ony 2 1/4 ounces. In other words,
if you bough the candy bar by weight, they way you buy sugar, you'd be paying almost 9 cents instead of 5 cents for a four-ounce bar.
The sad truth is that price ceilings of candy, as set by the General Maximum Price Regulation last March, have not halted the boosting
of prices. And the Office of Price Administration recently tried--and failed--to get a permanent injunction against Mars, Inc., because
the company had reduced the weight of its candy bars 11 per cent last May. The Federal Cout judge who heard the case ruled that
"slight reductions" in weight of candy bars sold in March did not constitute a violation of OPA regulations, and therefore he dismissed
OPA's application for an injunction. OPA is appealing the case; unless the decision is reversed, price control will be seriously
threatened.
Reduction in Weight CU's survey of prices and weights of popular brands indicates that reductions in the weight
of candy bars have been far from "slight." CU was able this year to buy 20 of the kinds of candy bars studied in 1939. of the whole
assortment, Tootsie Rolls were the only ones that hadn't shurnk in size. A two-ounce Tootsie Roll used to cost 5 cents; it still
does. But the other bars which were tested then and now showed a hidden price increase averaging around 23 per cent. CU's analysis
of candy bar prices revealed some other interesting facts. The least expensive of the rapidly disappearing milk chocolate bars
in the present survey--aside from the six-ounce bars priced at two for 25 cents (which CU hasn't found in the stores for several
months)--was Hershey's 3/4-ounce bar. These used to cost three for 5 cents; not many stores sell them for a straight 2 cents each,
and some, for 3 cents each. At 2 cents they are a good buy. Their cost per ounce is 2.7 cents, compared with 3.1 cents per ounce
for Peter's ( 1 5/8-ounce bar), the lowest priced 5 cents bar CU found, and 3.3 cents for Hershey's 5 cents (1 1/2-ounce) bar.
Puffed milk chocolate bars were found to be more expensive than unpuffed bars of either the same or competing brands. But for utter
extravagance in candy buying CU cites the penny bar. Hershey's penny bars of milk chocolate cost from 6.3 cents to
6.7 cents an ounce. As for milk chocolate with almonds, Aero (made by Hershey) was both the best buy and the worst,
depending upon how it was bought. The 5 cent bar was comparatively cheap, costing 3.3 cents an ounce; the penny bar, on the other hand,
cost 10 cents an ounce. CU's shoppers found that there was no abundance in the stores of any kind of candy bars. The supply varied
from day to day, as evidently most retailers sold out one shipment long before the next one arrived."
McDonald's hamburger prices
If you are researching the price of McDonald's hamburgers in the United States these sample
prices will get you started:
[1955]--15 cents
[1964]--15 cents
[1968]--18 cents
[1972]
We find several articles about a scandal concering the McDonald's food prices and the
Federal Price Commission, no simple hamburger prices quote in tje New York Times.
Sample here: "Quarter pounder priced at 55 cents." --"McDonald's Told to Reduce Prices,"
New York Times, June 3, 1972 (p.21)
[1974]--30 cents
[1979]--38 cents
[1984]--50 cents
[1987]--62 cents
[1990]--75 cents
[1991]--59 cents
[1995]--85 cents
[1997]--$1.90 & 55 cents: "Burger price wars"
[2000]--89 cents
[2007]--89 cents
There is plenty of interesting information regarding McDonald's pricing strategies. If you
need more information ask your librarian to help you find this book: McDonald's: Behind
the Arches, John F. Love [Toronto:Bantam Books] 1986.
If you want to learn more about the global economic impact of McDonald's food prices you might
be interested in the Big Mac
Index maintained by The Economist.
Historical
photos (some showing price billboards) from McDonalds.
Nabisco's Oreo cookies
Local historic food prices
Please note: finding local historic food prices is a great project, as long as you can be
flexible with the food items. Why? Prices in newspaper ads reflect seasonal availability,
popular demand, company promotion, and product surplus. Some products rarely go on sale (a
bag of Hershey's Kisses), making their prices almost impossible to track. If you want to compare
food prices based on newspapers ads you will have the most success if you stick with the basics:
bread, butter, ice cream, steak, bacon, eggs, cereal, soda, canned vegetables, grape juice, oranges,
etc. Don't waste your time scanning through weeks of microfilm looking for one specific brand.
Pricing is competitive; store/generic brands are always a little cheaper than national brands. It also
makes sense to pick a week (first week in May?) to deflect the seasonal nature of food pricing.
Historic food prices for other countries
About culinary research & about copyright.
If a Reuben sandwich cost 35 cents in 1935, how much would that be in
"today's" dollars?
You can use
Colonial American tavern (publik house, ordinary) prices were set by law. Food was generally
included with the price of room. Urban taverns offered a wider range of services, including both
public and private dining facilties. These establishments offered meals to the general public.
Menus were nonexistant; prices were fixed. About colonial
tavern foods.
---Early American Taverns: For the Entertainment of Friends and Strangers, Kym S. Rice
for Fraunces Tavern Museum [Regnery Gateway:Chicago] 1983 (p. 85-93)
Burlington County NJ:
Breakfast, 1 shilling; breakfast extraordinary, 1 shilling 3 pence; Dinner, 1 shilling 3 pence; Dinner
extraordinary, 2 shillings; Supper, 1 shilling; Supper extraordinary, 2 shillings
Salem County NJ:
Best dinner with pint of good beer or cider 37.5 cents
Best breakfast, of tea, coffee or chocolate, loaf sugar 31 cents
Ditto of cold meat with a pint of good beer or cider 25cents
SOURCE: Old Inns and Taverns in West Jersey, Camden County Historical Society,
1962)
Food in wartime is often a precious commodity. Prices are determined by availability and
governmental regulation. In World War I our federal government established the U.S. Food
Administration, headed by Herbert Hoover.
Price and Supply on the Home Front,
Harriet Elliott,Consumer Division, Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply,
Survey Graphic, July, 1941.
A "Food Thru the Ages " project sounds wonderful! Unfortunately, this is not a simple task.
Determining accurate historic values of consumer goods is a complicated economic process--one
which must factor in regional differences, inflation, labor costs and personal income.
To make
international comparisons one must also study the evolution of monetary systems and foreign
exchange rates. This is why (for example) it is impossible to draw a simple chart of bread prices
through the ages across all cultures. If you want to compare your local prices from one decade to
another you will need to factor in the Consumer
Price Index for your area. Numbers are supplied by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Did you know that in Great Britain that a penny-loaf was set by law? Karen Hess, culinary
historian, explained "Bread was the staff of life in Tudor and Stuart England, more so among the
poor than the rich.... Its importance was such that the Assizes of Bread, dating from
1266, took upon itself overseeing and pricing of the bakers. The price of the loaf was fixed; the
weight was permitted to fluctuate in compliance with an official table that took into account the
price of wheat and the extent of bolting. The finest regular loaf was the penny white, next the
penny wheaten...and the household penny 100% whole wheat..." (Martha
Washington's Booke of Cookery, pps 17-18). You will find a link to the Assize of
Bread and the Judgement of the Pillory (the punishment for breaking this law!) in
the Food Timeline's teacher resources
page, under the heading
"laws".
Pioneering 19th century breakfast cereal manufacturers (Kelloggs, Post, Quaker, Ralston) left an indelible mark
on American tables. In addition to filling generations of hungry bellies, breakfast cereals provide viable insight into
our nation's economic situation. How? Prices and sizes of breakfast cereal products reflect dietary recommendations, agricultural surpluses, supply shortages,
and political purpose.
We selected Kellogg's Corn Flakes for our breakfast cereal price study because it has survived a century of changing consumer tastes, two World
Wars, price fixing investigations, Stagflation and (now) Agflation. It's one of the few constants in a churning bowl of changing norms.
[June 29, 1907] "large size," 10 cents
[1908] no size, 10 cents
[1909] no size, 10 cents
[1910] no size, 9 cents
[1911] no size, 10 cents
[1912] no size, 9 cents
[1913] no size, 10 cents
[1914] no size, 10 cents
[1915] no size, 8 cents
[1916] no size, 8 cents
[1917] no size, 8 cents
[1918] no size, 8 cents
[1919] no size, 12 cents
[1920] no size, 11 cents
[1922] "large size," 12.5 cents
[1923] no size, 9 cents
[1924] no size, 8 cents
[1925] no size, 9 cents
[1926] no size, 10 cents
[1927] no size, 10 cents
[1928] no size, 8 cents
[1929] no size, 7 cents
[1930] 7.6 oz, 7.5 cents
[1931] no size, 9 cents
[1932] 8 oz, 25 cents/four pkgs
[1933] no size, 20 cents/three pkgs
[1934] 8 oz, 8 cents
[1935] 8 oz, 8 cents
[1936] 8 oz, 20 cents/three pkgs
[1937] no size, 7 cents
[1938] 8 oz, 13 cents/two pkgs
[1939] 8 oz, 13 cents/two pkgs
[1940] 8 oz, 11 cents/two pkgs
[1941] no size, 9 cents
[1942] 11 oz, 8 cents
[1943] 11 oz, 8 cents
[1944] 6 oz, 5 cents
[1945] 11 oz, 8 cents (also: 6 oz, 5 cents & 18 oz, 12 cents)
[1946] 6 oz, 5 cents
[1947] 13 oz, 17 cents
[1948] 8 oz, 12 cents
[1949] 13 oz, 19 cents
[1950] 8 oz, 16 cents
[1951] 8 oz, 13 cents
[1952] 8 oz, 16 cents
[1953] 8 oz, 15 cents
[1954] 8 oz, 25 cents
[1955] 12 oz, 19 cents
[1956] 8 oz, 29 cents/two pkgs
[1957] 8 oz, 17 cents
[1958] 8 oz, 18 cents
[1959] 12 oz, 22 cents
[1960] 18 oz, 27 cents
[1961] 12 oz, 23 cents
[1962] 18 oz, 27 cents
[1963] 12 oz, 23 cents
[1964] 12 oz, 29 cents
[1965] 12 oz, 25 cents
[1966] 12 oz, 25 cents
[1967] 12 oz, 29 cents
[1968] 18 oz, 39 cents
[1969] 12 oz, 29 cents
[1970] 18 oz, 38 cents
[1971] 8 oz, 21 cents
[1972] 18 oz, 37 cents
[1973] 12 oz, 25 cents
[1974] 18 oz, 43 cents
[1975] 12 oz, 45 cents
[1976] 18 oz, 69 cents
[1977] 12 oz, 50 cents
[1978] 24 oz, $1.15
[1979] 12 oz, 59 cents
[1980] 19 oz, 99 cents
[1981] 18 oz, $1.12
[1982] 18 oz, $1.25
[1983] 18 oz, 99 cents
[1984] 12 oz, 89 cents
[1985] 18 oz, $1.09
[1986] 18 oz, $1.39
[1987] 24 oz, $1.99
[1988] 18 oz, $1.49
[1989] 18 oz, $1.69
[1990] 18 oz, $1.99
[1991] 18 oz, $2.19
[1992] 18 oz, $1.99
[1993] 18 oz, $1.29
[1994] 24 oz, $2.19
[1995-1996] no prices found yet
[1997] 18oz, $2.59
[1998] 18 oz, $2.29
[1999] no prices found yet
[2000] 18 oz, $2.99
[2001-2003] no prices found yet
[2004] 12 oz, $2.99
[2005-2007] no prices found yet
[May 10, 2008] 12 oz, $2.99
Tracing price histories for specific products (even ones as famous as Coca Cola and Pepsi) can be
a complicated project. Why? Point of purchase (vending machine, grocery store, restaurant, army
PX?), product size (10 ounce cans, 8 ounce glass bottles, 2 litre plastic bottles), and economic
factors (sugar availability) all play significant roles. Most products do not maintain a uniform
presence throughout the years. Unless the company itself has conducted such a study, the best
you can do is approximate. If this is the case, base your study on price per ounce rather than
container.
Coca cola began selling its products in cans in 1940, two years after the first soda in cans (Cliquot
brand ginger ale) went to market. Our research indicates these cans cost 5 cents each. About
Coca Cola in cans:
Can Central
Notes: We include unit size whenever possible; some old newspaper advertisements exclude
this piece of data. Pricing for these two products is generally competitive, meaning they are
approximately the same on average. A sale one week for Coca Cola is likely be matched the next
by Pepsi.
When Coca Cola was launched in 1886, it was offered free to customers in drug store soda
fountains. This popular period marketing strategy soon created a demand for the product. About
Coca Cola.
[1944] Daily Record, Coca Cola, .05/bottle
[1945] Daily Record, Pepsi, .23/six 12 ounce bottles
[1964] Daily Record, Coca Cola, .27, two 12 oz cans
[1968] Value of a Dollar, Pepsi, .59/6pack of 10oz bottles
[1972] Daily Record, Pepsi, .69/six-pack 12 oz cans
[1974] Daily Record, Pepsi Cola, .88/6 12oz cans
[1982] Daily Record, Coke, .99/1 litre bottle
[1985] Daily Record, Pepsi, .89/2 litre bottle
[1992] Daily Record, Coke, 6.98/two 12-packs 12 oz cans
[1994] Daily Record, Coca Cola, 3.99/two "12" packs
[1995] Daily Record, Coca Cola, .59-.99/2 litre bottle
[2002] Daily Record, Coca Cola .99/2 litre bottle
[2005] Daily Record, Coca Cola, 1.09/2 litre bottle
[2009] Daily Record, Coca Cola, 3.99/8-pack; 16 oz bottles
Marketing students will find hundreds of articles on the "cola wars" in consumer/business
magazines, trade journals (Beverage Digest, for example), and newspapers. Ask your
librarian how to access these databases. Some of these should be accessible from your own
computer. All you need is a library card or student ID.
Tracking the prices of "regular" candy bars is a complicated project because over the
years the definition of regular (ie, size and weight) has also changed. Contrary to popular
opinion, the size of the average chocolate bar is not ever-shrinking. The price? Is a function of
global trade.
[1908] 9/16 oz.....2 cents
[1918] 16/16 oz.....3 cents
[1920] 9/16 oz.....3 cents
[1921] 1 oz.....5 cents
[1924] 1 3/8 oz.....5 cents
[1930] 2 oz.....5 cents
[1933] 1 7/8 oz.....5 cents
[1936] 1 1/2 oz.....5 cents
[1937] 1 5/8 oz.....5 cents
[1938] 1 3/8 oz.....5 cents
[1939] 1 5/8 oz.....5 cents
[1941] 1 1/4 oz.....5 cents
[1944] 1 5/8 oz.....5 cents
[1946] 1 1/2 oz.....5 cents
[1947] 1 oz.....5 cents
[1954] 7/8 oz.....5 cents
[1955] 1 oz.....5 cents
[1958] 7/8 oz.....5 cents
[1960] 1 oz.....5 cents
[1963] 7/8 oz......5 cents
[1965] 1 oz.....5 cents
[1966] 7/8 oz.....5 cents
[1968] 3/4 oz.....5 cents
[1969] 1 1/2 oz.....10 cents
[1970] 1 3/8 oz.....10 cents
[1973] 1.26 oz......10 cents
[1974] 1.4 oz.....15 cents
[1976] 1.2 oz.....15 cents
[1977] 1.2 oz......20 cents
[1978] 1.2 oz.....25 cents
[1980] 1.05 oz.....25 cents
[1982] 1.45 oz.....30 cents
[1983] 1.45 oz.....35 cents
[1986] 1.45 oz.....40 cents
[1986] 1.65 oz.....40 cents
"Last year, candy makers raised the price of candy bars 5 cents, to an average of 45
cents. The previous hike was in 1986."
---M&Ms Plans to Nickel and Dime the Competition, New York Newsday, April 8, 1992
(p. 41) [NOTE: product weight not referenced in this article]
[1995] .50
1.55 oz.,
Value of a Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States 1860-2009, Scott Derks [Grey House Publishing:Millerton NY] 2009 (p. 641)
[2003] .80
1.55 oz Hershey Bar purchased at Quik (privately owned convenience store), Randolph NJ...80 cents
[2007] .79
1.45 oz.,Value of a Dollar
[2008] .59
1.55 oz., Super FoodTown (regional grocery chain), East Hanover NJ
[2009] $1.10
1.55 oz., 7-Eleven convenience store, Randolph NJ
[2010] .95
1.55 oz., Acme supermarket, Randolph NJ
---"Candy Bars," Consumer Reports, April 1943 (p. 94-95)
[NOTES: (1) CU=Consumer's Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. (2) This article offers a chart comparing the weights and costs for the following candy bars: Tootsie Rolls, Hersehy's Milk
Chocolate, Suchard Bittra, Suchard Milka, Oh Henry, Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds, Butterfinger, Milky Way, Nestle's Mlk
Chocolate, Peter's Milk Chocolate, Nestle's Puffed Milk Chocolate, Nestle's Milk Chocolate with Almonds, Baby Ruth, Love Nest, Baker's
Milk Chocolate, Mounds, Mr. Goodbar, Rockwood's Sweet Chocolate with Fruit and Nuts, and Forever Yours.]
A comprehsive study of McDonalds hamburger prices through time is a complicated
topic. The ultimate authority is the company. Articles in newspapers, magazines, and
wire services typically report major changes, and promotions (dollar wars, reduced
price when purchased with other products).
"On that cold, cloudy first day of business 30 years ago, Mr. Kroc's No. 1 McDonald's sold
$366.12 worth of 15- cent hamburgers, 19-cent cheeseburgers, 20-cent milkshakes and 10- cent
sodas and orders of fries."
"THE MCBURGER STAND THAT STARTED IT ALL," SHIPP, E. R., New York
Times, Feb 27, 1985, pg. C.3
"1964: St. Paul's first McDonald's restaurant opens, on Fort Road. A burger costs 15
cents. "
---Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) September 29, 2002
Source: Value of a Dollar: Prices and Incomes in the United States 1860-2009, Scott Derks [Grey House Publishing:Millerton NY] 2009 (p. 643)
---Value of a Dollar
"Plans by the McDonald's Corp. to lower its hamburger prices by a nickel drew plaudits
Monday from the president's chief inflation fighter, who said it would save the firm's
customers millions of dollars. The firm said it would do its part to fight inflation by
instituting a 10 percent cutback in prices of its regular hamburgers and
cheeseburgers at its company-owned stores. Effective Tuesday, hamburgers will drop
from 43 to 38 cents and cheeseburgers from 48 to 43 cents."
---AP Newswire, August 20, 1979
---Value of a Dollar
---Value of a Dollar
"'Value Pricing' resembles a department store's bargain basement. At McDonald's...The selections tapped for long-term price reductions are believed to include the plain hamburger, which now
sells for 75 cents or more..."
---"Discount Menu is Coming to McDonald's As Chain Tries to Win Back Customers," Wall Street Journal, November 30,
1990 (p. B1)
"The new "Low Down Value" menu will discount several key items to 59 cents, including the basic hamburger..."
--- "MCDONALD'S 'LOW DOWN VALUE' MENU," Dan Koeppel, Brandweek, 1 January 1991 (p. 10)
---Value of a Dollar
"The Arch Deluxe didn't bring new customers into its stores, so now McDonald's Corp. appears poised to try something old -- price cutting.
The fast food company will pitch a new promotional price-cutting scheme to its franchise operators in a video teleconference today. According to Dick Adams, the
head of an association of McDonald's franchisees, the company has been "trying to convince its franchisees that it's the right way to go for a couple of weeks."
The bait designed to lure customers through the golden arches is a 55-cent Big Mac, available only if purchased with a soft drink and french fries, menu items that
yield relatively high profit margins. Normally the Big Mac sells for $1.90. At the new price, when a customer orders a small drink and small fries the franchisee
would only break even, said Adams"
---"The 55-Cent Big Mac Tack; McDonald's Proposed Price Cut Represents a Reversal of the Arch Deluxe Strategy,"
Martha M. Hamilton,. The Washington Post,, Feb 27, 1997. pg. E.01
---Value of a Dollar
---Value of a Dollar
[NOTE: the book Value of a Dollar includes both charts detailing both historic price and prices expressed in 2007 dollars.]
We Americans love our Oreos!
[1913] 10-25 cents/no size
[1922] 32 cents/lb
[1931] 32-35 cents/lb
[1932] 25 cents/lb
[1934] 27 cents/lb
[1936] 10 cents/pkg
[1948] 15 cents/4.5 oz
[1949] 14 cents/4.25 oz
[1950] 34 cents/11 oz
[1952] 35 cents/11 oz
[1953] 23 cents/7.25 oz
[1954] 21 cents/7.25 oz
[1955] 39 cents/11.75 oz
[1956] 33 cents/11.75 oz
[1957] 35 cents/12.75 oz
[1958] 33 cents/11.75 oz
[1959] 37 cents/11.75 oz
[1960] 45 cents/lb
[1961] 45 cents/lb
[1962] 49 cents/lb
[1963] 45 cents/lb
[1964] 39 cents/lb
[1965] 43 cents/lb
[1966] 43 cents/lb
[1967] 49 cents/lb
[1968] 45 cents/lb
[1969] 51 cents/lb
[1970] 45 cents/15 oz
[1971] 55 cents/15 oz
[1972] 49 cents/lb
[1973] 49 cents/15 oz
[1974] 55 cents/15 oz
[1975] 89 cents/15 oz
[1976] 99 cents/19 oz
[1977] 89 cents/15 oz
[1978] 79 cents/15 oz
[1979] 1.05/15 oz
[1980] 99 cents/15 oz
[1981] 1.69/19 oz
[1982] 1.65/19 oz
[1983] 1.85/19 oz
[1984] 1.79/20 oz
[1985] 2.17/19 oz
[1986] 1.69/20 oz
[1987] 1.99/20 oz
[1988] 2.49/20 oz
[1989] 2.49/20 oz
[1990] 2.69/lb
[1991] 2.39/lb
[1992] 1.99/20 oz
[1993] 1.19/5.8 oz
[1994] 2.49/20 oz
[1995] 1.09/4.8 oz
[2004] 2.99/lb
[2008] 4.29/18 oz
Contact your public library and historical society and ask about the availability of old newspapers,
store ledgers, menus, and personal diaries. Be specific. Tell them which date(s) and place(s) you
need. Your librarian can confirm availability or direct you to the closet holding library. If you are
a teacher/scout leader assigning this project, please call ahead to alert the librarians you class is
coming. This is a great project for students who have not yet had the pleasure of looking through
old microfilm. Your librarians many also have other sources they can gather and have waiting for
your student. If your library does not have old newspapers, your librarian can help identify which papers were
published in certain towns for a specific time period. She can usually borrow the paper
(on microfilm) for you. This is especially helpful if you are compiling prices for another city, as is
often the case with birthday and anniversary presents.
[1901-2002] Tasmanian food prices
[17th century] Prices in New France
[20th century] Retail food prices have been culled by the Canadian government from the 20th century forward. They
are reported in a number of government documents. Unfortunately, most of these documents are not
uploaded full-text and free to the Internet. Summary of our findings:
[NOTE: this chart indicates data is collected from the Canada's CPI Survey. Ask your local public
librarian about access.]
[1938]
"Berlin...Lotteries and bookmaking are legal in Germany, one in which everybody with a healthy appetite places at least two bets every day, is the
food lottery. Coffee and rolls are a sure thing for breakfast, but anybody will give odds on what he will get for the two other
meals. Those to whom eating is a pleasure, as well as a necessity, no longer ask themselves: 'What shall I eat today?' but
mentally speculate: 'What can I get today?' Nomads who eat in restaurants, and know the headwaiter's first name, and
tourists need not take the food gamble so seriously. A restaurant menu usually has enough suggestions to make the average customer
forget what he intended to eat. Schlichter's, where I ate the other night, offered twenty-six fish and meat dishes as
specialties in addition to steaks, chops and a hundred other regular items...If present conditions continue long enough, the
home-loving Germans, certainly the city dwellers, will be transformed into a race of diners-out. Those who have the responsibility
for filling the home pots and pans are the hopeless addicts in the daily food gamble, as an extract from a housewife's diary
shows: 'Sunday--half a lemon decorated my grilled flounder at the hotel--such extravagance--and every order in the dining room
was enough for a starving stevedore, naturally much of it uneaten and wasted; tomorrow we start housekeeping. 'Monday--At
breakfast we decided on pork chops for dinner. None of the neighboring shops had pork, but one did produce two small, not too
juicy beefsteaks...Vegetable trays had only green beans, kohlrabi and green peppers. No sho had onions or lard...
'Tuesday--Bought three eggs, which a girl clerk had apparently had hidden behind the counter. A woman wanted two pounds of fresh
green beans which were inside the store, but the proprietor, arrogant since people must take what they can get, said she could
not have them until the stale ones outside were sold. Got some lamb chops, the first I've seen, and the stores had stew beef
and pork which can be boiled in sauerkraut. 'Wednesday--Tried to get more eggs but was told there would not be any until next
week, if then... the city was out of onions...[and] garlic...'Thursday--Found a small grapefruit...to vary the usual
peaches, plums, and grapes...Also good tomatoes and lettuce for salad, which appear about twice a week...The [store] proprietor...
made sure that we would not feed [rice] to our dogs before he would sell a pound. He sold me two oranges, though his orders were
to sell the German apples first. 'Friday--Good fresh fish for dinner but shopped in vain for lemons, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage,
green beans and carrots on the trays...still no onions. 'Saturday--One store had a leg of lamb for roasting, and others
had a supply of beef and pickled pigs feet. Windows of those handling smoked meats are full of hams and countless varieties
of sausages, but cold lunches become monotonous. All had green corn in husks, an idea from America, but at caviar prices. A
dissapointment when cooked, for it was field corn, tasteless and woody. 'Sunday--Ate in a restaurant and from the way they are
crowded most of Berlin must be dining out...In Berlin the early bird at the weekly market or stores gets the chops, if there
are any...Some days they cannot get pork, an other days it may be mutton or another staple. Butter and lard already are
rationed, and talk is that the police will issue cards for meat before the Winter is over. Each adult is allowed half a pound
of butter and as much lard, each week, if there is any lard. Each ration card is good at a designated store. The supply of
adulterated butter is sufficient...Peacetime rationing of meat and other foods, if it goes further, might have unpleasant
results. Little if any of the supply is wasted now, as stores rarely have any which is not sold, and the thrifty German, at present
prices, is not buying more than absolutely needed. Most Germans always have bought from day to day. Few have ice boxes. In
Germany, not only meat but almost all vegetables, fruits and other foods are sold by the pound. An American pound is 9-10ths of a
German pound and a dollar is worth 2.49 5/8 reichsmarks. Store prices of a few typical articles (per American Pound unless stated
otherwise) are: Beef tenderloin, 68 cents; beef pot ropast, 36 cents; soup beef, with bone, 31 cents; soup beef, boneless,
43 cents; hamburger, 38 cents; goulash veal, 45 cents; pork tenderloin, 54 cents; pork kidneys, 38 cents; mutton chops, 41 cents;
boiled ham, 65 cents; chicken, 45 cents; smoked eel, 86 cents; head cheese, 36 cents; liver sausage, 65 cents; Summer salami, 70
cents; coffee, $1.08; bread, 8 cents; butter, 58 cents; fresh tomatoes, 8 1/4 cents; lettuce (head), 4 cents; green corn,
9 1/3 cents; green string beans, 9 cents; princess string beans, 14 1/2 cents; dry onions (peck), 51 cents to
$1.13; cabbage, 4 cents, mushrooms, 26 cents; eggs (dozen), 60 cents;...peaches 18 cents; pineapple (one) $1.80; cantaloul, 68 cents;
bananas, 18 cents; grape fruit (one) 20 cents; cream (quart), 41 cents; sugar loaf 16 cents; sugar, pulverized, 14 cents;
apples, 16 cents, German Camembert, 36 cents...These prices are for the American or other foreigner who lives in Germany and who
pays 40 cents for a reichsmark. The also are the prices for the German whos basic wage is between $17.50 and $26.50 in a
week of forty-four hours. Pay of skilled workers is higher and, with the present shortage of labor for industrial and urban
construction, may work two shifts a day...Germany never grew all the food it needed, and the balance must be imported...Gresh foods from neighboring contries
always supplemented what the home farmers grew, and now Germany has cut down on food imports. The excuse is that the country
needs its foreign exchange to import war materials. True or not, that is what the people believe and tell each other."
---"Daily Food Gamble is Lot of Germans," Junius B. Wood, New York Times, September 19, 1938 (p. 7)
[1209-1914] English prices and wages
...This huge Excel spreadsheet offes dozens of food pricesincluding vinegar, rye, raisins, bread, butter, beef, beer, etc. Note column
headings & units (pound of bread), then scroll down to your target year. AMAZING!
[1270-1955] Grain prices (wheat, barley, rye etc.)
[Medieval period] Food & livestock
[1272-1327] Abstracts And Extracts From
Smyth's Lives of the Berkeley Family, MS.
[1550-1780] Prices, Food and Wages in Scotland 1550-1780/AJS Gibsaon & TC Smout [book]
[17th century] British
provisions prices (Southampton)
[18th century] London prices, mid-1700s
[1825] Cost of Living in Jane Austen's England (includes weekly food prices)
[1861] Book of Household Cookery, Isabella Beeton (some recipes include average cost)
[1888] Cost of Living
[20th century] Cost of groceries (1914, 1950, 1975, 2000:
cheddar cheese, margarine, butter, eggs, tea, sugar, bread, potatoes, milk)
[1909] Mrs. Beeton's Everyday Cookery, 11th edition (p. 37-44) prices for beef, mutton, pork, veal, lamb, poultry, game, fish,
vegetables, dairy produce, ham & bacon, fruit, grocery (nuts, candied peel, dried fruit, coffee, tea, mustard etc.), tinned provisions
(jams, fruit in tins, jellies, tinned meats, soup, milk, vegetables), sauces & pickles (ketchup, chutney, curry) & grain/prepared
foods (arrowroot, pea flour, oatmeal, rice, tapioca). Some prices are for name brand products (Leibig's beef essence, Harvey's sauce,
[1914-2004] Average Retail Prices/National Archives...requires creating dataset, not
all foods reported for all years, includes alcohol. Be sure to include year and note dataset number for your selections.
[WWII]
War Time Cost of Living
About these notes: Food history can be a complicated topic. These notes are not meant
to be a
comprehensive treatment of the subject, but a summary of salient points supported with culinary
evidence. If you
need more information we suggest you start by asking your librarian to help you find the books
and articles cited in these notes. Article databases are good for locating current recipes, consumer
trends, and new products.
Have questions? Ask!
Research conducted by Lynne
Olver, editor The Food
Timeline. About this site.