1913
$100.00
Baseline purchasing power, the year the Federal Reserve was created.
The pre-Federal Reserve baseline. A dollar bought a dollar's worth of goods.
1963
$32.35
Fifty years on, wars and depression-era policy had eroded two-thirds of its value.
Half a century of inflation, two world wars and the Depression cut value by two-thirds.
1983
$9.94
Stagflation and the oil shocks of the 1970s carved away most of what remained.
The 1970s oil shocks and stagflation era hit hardest, wiping out another two-thirds.
2003
$5.38
Two more decades of steady, unremarkable inflation cut the value nearly in half.
Two more decades of steady inflation nearly halved it again by the early 2000s.
2026
$2.99
Today, the original $100 buys less than $3 once did — a 97%+ loss over 113 years.
From $100 to under $3 in 113 years — a loss of over 97% of original purchasing power.