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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;mrbrklyn, post: 940908, member: 4381&quot;]Two things on this topic.&nbsp; One is that I&#039;m just not sure what this has to do with coins collecting.&nbsp; I believe the whole topic of inflation is wearing out the rug.</p><p><br /></p><p>That being said and as long as we are discussing it:</p><p><br /></p><p>The concept of inflation of currency is really only useful when comparing relatively recent economic windows.&nbsp; Otherwise the real economy from period to period is so different that direct price comparisons are not only largely useless, but also contributes to misunderstanding and confusion about what is being compared.</p><p><br /></p><p>For example, over the last 5 years, from 2005-2010 we have had a dramatic shift in the types of goods that people use and need.&nbsp; Items such as the standard television, telephone, PC computer, and types of urban and rural land usage, drug therapy, motion pictures, animation, clothing et al have dramatically changes, right under your nose with the coming into the market of hand held phone-like devices, on-line video streaming, cholesterol drugs, population movement, facebook accounts, internet phone service, electronic stock purchases and airline ticketing, the latest inexpensive artificial fabrics, hybrid automobiles, and more. </p><p><br /></p><p>Going back 20 years, unleaded fuel, trucks, engine technology, construction costs of skyscrapers, computer systems and power, soap and detergent, antibiotics, LAP surgury, the fax, Music CDs and DVDs and a large segment of the goods and services that you use and purchase today simply weren&#039;t available, or brand new.</p><p><br /></p><p>Going back 50 years, to 1950, people were largely tied to bowling alleys, the local diner, a much smaller selection of food stuffs, and very expensive building costs as compared to today.&nbsp; In healthcare, whole segments didn&#039;t exist including most cholesterol meds, hear medications and betablockers, advanced antibiotics, the MRI, and the world of materials was all metal and chome, little plastic, natural fabric clothing, heavy steal bicycles and cars, and almost no ceramics.&nbsp; Jet airplane service was new and expensive, resulting in limited mobility and manual typewriter was still the workhorse for newspapers (which existed in far great numbers and more profitability), and business documents.</p><p><br /></p><p>100 years ago, in 1910, electric lighting was new and far from universal, readymade clothing off the rack was still new, the telephone was sparsely used by the average working class person, food stuff was very limited and in fact NYC was full of slaughter shops and chickens were live at the market and thereby a luxury good.&nbsp; Railroads were less expensive and land was cheaper and labor costs inexpensive as well.&nbsp; The Subway wasn&#039;t invented yet and the great railroads were gateways of commerce.&nbsp; There was no radios</p><p><br /></p><p>and so on...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>So comparing dollar values from 1950 to the present, you must take those values with a big lump of skepticism.&nbsp; The values and costs of goods going to the 1500&#039;s is nearly useless when compared to today.</p><p><br /></p><p>This all relates to the myth that money has some absolute value.&nbsp; It really doesn&#039;t.&nbsp; Money does not measure wealth, as counter intuitive as that seems, nor can economies be well measured by money.&nbsp; Money is an evanescent and ephemeral object of interpretive subjective cognizance among people which has a perceived&nbsp; value only relative to a specific time and place.</p><p><br /></p><p>For better comparison of economic conditions, units of consumption and production are much more reliable.</p><p><br /></p><p>BTW - it is this evanescent and ephemeral quality of money that makes coins so interesting historically.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ruben[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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