In the 1950s you could buy a gallon of gasoline for a quarter (US $0.25 coin). Today, for that same quarter, you could buy two gallons of gasoline.
Gasoline for a quarter.
- Thread starter Carbon
- Start date
- Status
I would love for you to post the inflation/cost charts to show that.
Cheapest gas I ever bought was in the spring of 1971 in Tennessee. I got 6 gallons of Mobil Regular for $1.00. Hi-test was 5 gallons for $1.00. The was idiculously cheap even then. We drove into Tennessee in February and encountered a gas war. The further we went, the cheaper it got. At the time , I was driving a VW that averaged about 35 mpg or a bit more. So I could go at least 210 miles for a buck!
The current spot price of silver is $43.24 per ounce. US silver coins trade at silver price/oz x face value x .7234 meaning that a silver quarter will sell for $7.92 in Federal Reserve Notes. Local gas price has unleaded regular at $3.709 per gallon.
I checked a CPI inflation calculator and a 1950's quarter is worth about $2 today. That will barely buy you a 1/2 gal of gas let alone 2.
25 cents/gal for gas is I think a high side estimate for it in the 50's. I think I seen old pictures in that era with 17-20 cents/gal. What this shows is gas prices have been fairly stable for well over 50 years and basically overnight around 2007 it doubled and became unstable. That seems planned.
25 cents/gal for gas is I think a high side estimate for it in the 50's. I think I seen old pictures in that era with 17-20 cents/gal. What this shows is gas prices have been fairly stable for well over 50 years and basically overnight around 2007 it doubled and became unstable. That seems planned.
I remember in 2001 when gas was under $2 a gallon.
I can remember regular Gulf gasoline, while in high school, selling as low as 17.9 cents a gallon during a corner "gas war".
There was Gulf station on one corner, an Esso on another and a Mobile on a third corner with a Sinclair station a short ways away.
Two bucks would buy a lot of fuel back in the late 60s!
There was Gulf station on one corner, an Esso on another and a Mobile on a third corner with a Sinclair station a short ways away.
Two bucks would buy a lot of fuel back in the late 60s!
Last edited:
I think the point was that the gas costs are not as bad as they initially seem, when adjusted.
Our gas in Windsor is, ahem, "only" $1.26 at present. Mind you, that is per litre, and there are ~4 litres per gallon.
Only a year or so ago gas prices hit $1/L for the first time that anyone could remember. And now? A friend said to me just yesterday in response to the $1.26 gas that he hopes it goes back to something "acceptable" again like $1.05!
I guess that's how they engineer our expectations and tolerances.
Only a year or so ago gas prices hit $1/L for the first time that anyone could remember. And now? A friend said to me just yesterday in response to the $1.26 gas that he hopes it goes back to something "acceptable" again like $1.05!
I guess that's how they engineer our expectations and tolerances.
The long-term average is about $2.25 to $2.50. Call me crazy, but I believe we will eventually get back to that price.
Seems gas prices jump up before recessions? Before wars? There must be some pattern.
Originally Posted By: crw
The long-term average is about $2.25 to $2.50. Call me crazy, but I believe we will eventually get back to that price.
I agree. In fact, I have a bet with one of my colleagues that it will happen with 3 years.
The long-term average is about $2.25 to $2.50. Call me crazy, but I believe we will eventually get back to that price.
I agree. In fact, I have a bet with one of my colleagues that it will happen with 3 years.
But look how stable it was from 1940 to 1981 and if we take out the very short lived spike around 1933-41 and 1980-1983, the price was pretty stable and DROPPING from 1924 to 2003, roughly between $2.50 and $1.50. After 2003 it shot up and has been elevated for several years. Does anyone expect it to come down for an extended period like in the past. Also I think the graph is sort of obscuring the price ioncrease after '03. Average price around $2.25/gal in '11? What, the price has been hovering around $3.50 to $4.00/gal. the CPI is wacked up lately.
Bottom line is gas had averaged around $2/gal for over 60 years and was on a downward slope until '03.
Bottom line is gas had averaged around $2/gal for over 60 years and was on a downward slope until '03.
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I checked a CPI inflation calculator and a 1950's quarter is worth about $2 today. That will barely buy you a 1/2 gal of gas let alone 2.
25 cents/gal for gas is I think a high side estimate for it in the 50's. I think I seen old pictures in that era with 17-20 cents/gal. What this shows is gas prices have been fairly stable for well over 50 years and basically overnight around 2007 it doubled and became unstable. That seems planned.
What happened to Saddam Hussain??? He kept gas prices low,probably that is why we killed him.
I checked a CPI inflation calculator and a 1950's quarter is worth about $2 today. That will barely buy you a 1/2 gal of gas let alone 2.
25 cents/gal for gas is I think a high side estimate for it in the 50's. I think I seen old pictures in that era with 17-20 cents/gal. What this shows is gas prices have been fairly stable for well over 50 years and basically overnight around 2007 it doubled and became unstable. That seems planned.
What happened to Saddam Hussain??? He kept gas prices low,probably that is why we killed him.
Originally Posted By: crw
The long-term average is about $2.25 to $2.50. Call me crazy, but I believe we will eventually get back to that price.
But this is the big question, gas has been higher than average for the longest period abut 8 years since the beginning of the industry. And no one is talking about anything but it going up in the future. It's a sudden increase that should've came back down to the $2 average but there's no signs that it will.
The long-term average is about $2.25 to $2.50. Call me crazy, but I believe we will eventually get back to that price.
But this is the big question, gas has been higher than average for the longest period abut 8 years since the beginning of the industry. And no one is talking about anything but it going up in the future. It's a sudden increase that should've came back down to the $2 average but there's no signs that it will.
Originally Posted By: Steve S
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I checked a CPI inflation calculator and a 1950's quarter is worth about $2 today. That will barely buy you a 1/2 gal of gas let alone 2.
25 cents/gal for gas is I think a high side estimate for it in the 50's. I think I seen old pictures in that era with 17-20 cents/gal. What this shows is gas prices have been fairly stable for well over 50 years and basically overnight around 2007 it doubled and became unstable. That seems planned.
What happened to Saddam Hussain??? He kept gas prices low,probably that is why we killed him.
I believe the price structure was purposely changed in '02. It coincided with the demise of Saddam Hussein, but I don't think that was the tactic that caused the price change.
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I checked a CPI inflation calculator and a 1950's quarter is worth about $2 today. That will barely buy you a 1/2 gal of gas let alone 2.
25 cents/gal for gas is I think a high side estimate for it in the 50's. I think I seen old pictures in that era with 17-20 cents/gal. What this shows is gas prices have been fairly stable for well over 50 years and basically overnight around 2007 it doubled and became unstable. That seems planned.
What happened to Saddam Hussain??? He kept gas prices low,probably that is why we killed him.
I believe the price structure was purposely changed in '02. It coincided with the demise of Saddam Hussein, but I don't think that was the tactic that caused the price change.
The key to the short to intermediate price of oil will depend on events in the Middle East and, in particular, Saudi Arabia and the gulf states (Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, etc). The 800 lb gorilla in the area is Iran. Another factor has to do with our troop withdrawl in Iraq. According to articles I have read the Persian Gulf situation is not even factored in the current price of oil. If major trouble breaks out in that region what we are paying for fuel now could end up approaching reasonable.
As an after junior high school gas pumper, I remember pumping tens of thousands of gallons of leaded Ethyl (premium) with the red dye tint for around $019.9/gallon in '71 or '72.
The first Arab oil embargo and the conversion to unleaded fuel spiked gas to around $047.9/gallon by '74. Around here, there was a gas station or two on every corner. Gas was routinely sold below cost at retail in those days. The infrastrucure requirements were minimal, and anybody could get in the business and see if they could stand to lose money longer than the other guy(s) that were already in it.
The retail gas market is very different today, but people are mostly the same. They scream like banshees when the price goes up a few cents, drive across town to save a penny, complain to anybody and everybody that the man in the big office in the tall building is sticking it to the little guy, and generally act like the sky is falling and that the price of gas will never come back down again.
The only question this time is how much it will come down. Printing dollars and making existing dollars worth less imo is not a sound economic policy. That is a big part of the existing price problem. I think the administration is indifferent to high energy prices or sees them as a good thing, and has little regard for the damage it causes the overall economy.
The first Arab oil embargo and the conversion to unleaded fuel spiked gas to around $047.9/gallon by '74. Around here, there was a gas station or two on every corner. Gas was routinely sold below cost at retail in those days. The infrastrucure requirements were minimal, and anybody could get in the business and see if they could stand to lose money longer than the other guy(s) that were already in it.
The retail gas market is very different today, but people are mostly the same. They scream like banshees when the price goes up a few cents, drive across town to save a penny, complain to anybody and everybody that the man in the big office in the tall building is sticking it to the little guy, and generally act like the sky is falling and that the price of gas will never come back down again.
The only question this time is how much it will come down. Printing dollars and making existing dollars worth less imo is not a sound economic policy. That is a big part of the existing price problem. I think the administration is indifferent to high energy prices or sees them as a good thing, and has little regard for the damage it causes the overall economy.
Patman
Staff member
Originally Posted By: KeithKman
I remember in 2001 when gas was under $2 a gallon.
I remember in 1998 when I was in Memphis for a few days I saw it as low as 97 cents! The bigger stations on the interstate during that trip were around $1.10 to $1.15 IIRC.
I remember in 2001 when gas was under $2 a gallon.
I remember in 1998 when I was in Memphis for a few days I saw it as low as 97 cents! The bigger stations on the interstate during that trip were around $1.10 to $1.15 IIRC.
- Status
Similar threads
