What $100 in 2020 was worth — measured in gold

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

55.5%

of the Australian dollar's value, gone — measured in gold, since 2020.
It now takes 2.2× more dollars to buy the same ounce.

In 2020, $100 bought 0.04 oz of gold at $2,565/oz. Held as metal, that same money is worth $225 at today's gold price of $5,761/oz (spot as of 2026-08-02).

Same $100. Three rulers.

Measure	$100 from 2020, today	Multiple
Official story — AU CPI (ABS via FRED)	$121	1.2×
Money created — M3 broad money	$124	1.2×
In gold — honest weight, valued today	$225	2.2×

The gap between 1.2× (CPI) and 1.2× (M3) is official inflation understating the money actually created. The gap between 1.2× and 2.2× (gold) is the flight to hard money — gold outrunning even the printing.

2020 in the fiat story

The RBA joined the QE club: bond purchases and the Term Funding Facility. The A$ gold price more than doubled from its 2019 level to successive record highs. Measured in gold, the Australian dollar's post-2020 record is the worst stretch in the floated era.

Try your own numbers

The In Gold calculator runs any amount and any year — AUD from 1971, or see 2020 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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