What $100 in 1920 was worth — measured in gold

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

99.5%

of the US dollar's value, gone — measured in gold, since 1920.
It now takes 196× more dollars to buy the same ounce.

In 1920, $100 bought 4.84 oz of gold at $20.67/oz. Held as metal, that same money is worth $19,561 at today's gold price of $4,043/oz (spot as of 2026-08-02).

Same $100. Three rulers.

Measure	$100 from 1920, today	Multiple
Official story — CPI-U (BLS)	$1,676	16.8×
In gold — honest weight, valued today	$19,561	196×

The gap between 16.8× (CPI) and 196× (gold) is the distance between the official story and the honest ruler. (M2 data begins later in the record.)

1920 in the fiat story

The twenties roared on credit. The gold peg at $20.67 still held, which is precisely why the era's inflation showed up in stocks and land instead of the gold price — the dollar's definition was fixed while the quantity of claims on it multiplied.

Try your own numbers

The In Gold calculator runs any amount and any year — USD from 1913.

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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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