What $100 in 2018 was worth — measured in gold

The price of gold didn't get more expensive. The value of the Australian dollar fell.

70.6%

of the Australian dollar's value, gone — measured in gold, since 2018.
It now takes 3.4× more dollars to buy the same ounce.

In 2018, $100 bought 0.06 oz of gold at $1,691/oz. Held as metal, that same money is worth $341 at today's gold price of $5,761/oz (spot as of 2026-08-02).

Same $100. Three rulers.

Measure	$100 from 2018, today	Multiple
Official story — AU CPI (ABS via FRED)	$124	1.2×
Money created — M3 broad money	$139	1.4×
In gold — honest weight, valued today	$341	3.4×

The gap between 1.2× (CPI) and 1.4× (M3) is official inflation understating the money actually created. The gap between 1.4× and 3.4× (gold) is the flight to hard money — gold outrunning even the printing.

2018 in the fiat story

The cash rate fell to record lows and housing became the country's money printer — credit creation doing what the RBA's balance sheet had not yet started doing openly.

Try your own numbers

The In Gold calculator runs any amount and any year — AUD from 1971, or see 2018 in USD.

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Method. Gold weight = amount ÷ the gold price of that year; "today" figures rebase the same amount by CPI, money supply, and gold spot. Deterministic — no estimates, no models, no AI in the number path. Annual averages. Sources: FRED CPIAUCNS, FRED M2SL, MeasuringWorth, GoldAPI live spot. Not financial advice. In Gold — the calculator · API
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