£500 in 1840 is worth £48,418.92 in 2017

Value of £500 from 1840 to 2017

£500 in 1840 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £48,418.92 in 2017, an increase of £47,918.92 over 177 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 2.62% per year between 1840 and 2017, producing a cumulative price increase of 9,583.78%.

This means that prices in 2017 are 96.84 times as high as average prices since 1840, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.

The inflation rate in 1840 was 1.83%. The inflation rate in 2017 was 3.58%. The 2017 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 4.03% per year between 2017 and 2024.


Inflation from 1840 to 2017
Cumulative price change9,583.78%
Average inflation rate2.62%
Converted amount
£500 base
£48,418.92
Price difference
£500 base
£47,918.92
CPI in 184011.100
CPI in 20171,074.900
Inflation in 18401.83%
Inflation in 20173.58%
£500 in 1840£48,418.92 in 2017

GBP inflation since 1840
Annual Rate, the Office for National Statistics CPI
Download

Buying power of £500 in 1840

This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £500 in 1840 (price index tracking began in 1750).

For example, if you started with £500, you would need to end with £48,418.92 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").

When £500 is equivalent to £48,418.92 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single U.K. pound decreases over time. In other words, a pound will pay for fewer items at the store.

This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a pound over time. By calculating the value in 1840 dollars, the chart below shows how £500 is worth less over 177 years.

According to the Office for National Statistics, each of these GBP amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:

Pound inflation: 1840-2017
YearPound ValueInflation Rate
1840£500.001.83%
1841£490.99-1.80%
1842£450.45-8.26%
1843£400.90-11.00%
1844£400.900.00%
1845£418.924.49%
1846£436.944.30%
1847£490.9912.37%
1848£427.93-12.84%
1849£400.90-6.32%
1850£378.38-5.62%
1851£364.86-3.57%
1852£364.860.00%
1853£400.909.88%
1854£459.4614.61%
1855£472.972.94%
1856£472.970.00%
1857£450.45-4.76%
1858£409.91-9.00%
1859£405.41-1.10%
1860£418.923.33%
1861£427.932.15%
1862£418.92-2.11%
1863£405.41-3.23%
1864£400.90-1.11%
1865£405.411.12%
1866£427.935.56%
1867£454.956.32%
1868£450.45-0.99%
1869£427.93-5.00%
1870£427.930.00%
1871£432.431.05%
1872£450.454.17%
1873£468.474.00%
1874£450.45-3.85%
1875£441.44-2.00%
1876£441.440.00%
1877£436.94-1.02%
1878£427.93-2.06%
1879£409.91-4.21%
1880£423.423.30%
1881£418.92-1.06%
1882£423.421.08%
1883£418.92-1.06%
1884£409.91-2.15%
1885£396.40-3.30%
1886£391.89-1.14%
1887£387.39-1.15%
1888£391.891.16%
1889£396.401.15%
1890£396.400.00%
1891£400.901.14%
1892£400.900.00%
1893£396.40-1.12%
1894£391.89-1.14%
1895£387.39-1.15%
1896£382.88-1.16%
1897£391.892.35%
1898£391.890.00%
1899£396.401.15%
1900£414.414.55%
1901£414.410.00%
1902£414.410.00%
1903£418.921.09%
1904£418.920.00%
1905£418.920.00%
1906£418.920.00%
1907£423.421.08%
1908£423.420.00%
1909£427.931.06%
1910£432.431.05%
1911£432.430.00%
1912£445.953.13%
1913£441.44-1.01%
1914£441.440.00%
1915£495.5012.24%
1916£585.5918.18%
1917£734.2325.38%
1918£896.4022.09%
1919£986.4910.05%
1920£1,139.6415.53%
1921£1,040.54-8.70%
1922£896.40-13.85%
1923£842.34-6.03%
1924£837.84-0.53%
1925£837.840.00%
1926£833.33-0.54%
1927£810.81-2.70%
1928£810.810.00%
1929£801.80-1.11%
1930£779.28-2.81%
1931£747.75-4.05%
1932£729.73-2.41%
1933£711.71-2.47%
1934£711.710.00%
1935£716.220.63%
1936£720.720.63%
1937£747.753.75%
1938£756.761.20%
1939£779.282.98%
1940£909.9116.76%
1941£1,009.0110.89%
1942£1,081.087.14%
1943£1,117.123.33%
1944£1,148.652.82%
1945£1,180.182.75%
1946£1,216.223.05%
1947£1,301.807.04%
1948£1,400.907.61%
1949£1,441.442.89%
1950£1,486.493.13%
1951£1,621.629.09%
1952£1,770.279.17%
1953£1,824.323.05%
1954£1,860.361.98%
1955£1,941.444.36%
1956£2,040.545.10%
1957£2,112.613.53%
1958£2,180.183.20%
1959£2,189.190.41%
1960£2,211.711.03%
1961£2,288.293.46%
1962£2,387.394.33%
1963£2,432.431.89%
1964£2,513.513.33%
1965£2,630.634.66%
1966£2,734.233.94%
1967£2,806.312.64%
1968£2,936.944.65%
1969£3,094.595.37%
1970£3,292.796.40%
1971£3,603.609.44%
1972£3,860.367.13%
1973£4,211.719.10%
1974£4,887.3916.04%
1975£6,072.0724.24%
1976£7,076.5816.54%
1977£8,198.2015.85%
1978£8,878.388.30%
1979£10,067.5713.39%
1980£11,878.3817.99%
1981£13,288.2911.87%
1982£14,432.438.61%
1983£15,094.594.59%
1984£15,846.854.98%
1985£16,810.816.08%
1986£17,382.883.40%
1987£18,108.114.17%
1988£18,995.504.90%
1989£20,472.977.78%
1990£22,409.919.46%
1991£23,725.235.87%
1992£24,612.613.74%
1993£25,004.501.59%
1994£25,608.112.41%
1995£26,495.503.47%
1996£27,135.142.41%
1997£27,986.493.14%
1998£28,945.953.43%
1999£29,391.891.54%
2000£30,261.262.96%
2001£30,797.301.77%
2002£31,310.811.67%
2003£32,216.222.89%
2004£33,175.682.98%
2005£34,112.612.82%
2006£35,202.703.20%
2007£36,711.714.29%
2008£38,175.683.99%
2009£37,972.97-0.53%
2010£39,725.234.61%
2011£41,792.795.20%
2012£43,135.143.21%
2013£44,445.953.04%
2014£45,495.502.36%
2015£45,945.950.99%
2016£46,743.241.74%
2017£48,418.923.58%
2018£49,726.232.70%
2019£50,969.392.50%
2020£51,886.831.80%
2021£53,179.682.49%
2022£57,380.887.90%
2023£61,438.857.07%
2024£63,834.973.90%*
* Compared to previous annual rate. Not final. See inflation summary for latest 12-month trailing value.
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This conversion table shows various other 1840 amounts in 2017 pounds, based on the 9,583.78% change in prices:

Conversion: 1840 pounds in 2017
Initial valueEquivalent value
£1 pound in 1840£96.84 pounds in 2017
£5 pounds in 1840£484.19 pounds in 2017
£10 pounds in 1840£968.38 pounds in 2017
£50 pounds in 1840£4,841.89 pounds in 2017
£100 pounds in 1840£9,683.78 pounds in 2017
£500 pounds in 1840£48,418.92 pounds in 2017
£1,000 pounds in 1840£96,837.84 pounds in 2017
£5,000 pounds in 1840£484,189.19 pounds in 2017
£10,000 pounds in 1840£968,378.38 pounds in 2017
£50,000 pounds in 1840£4,841,891.89 pounds in 2017
£100,000 pounds in 1840£9,683,783.78 pounds in 2017
£500,000 pounds in 1840£48,418,918.92 pounds in 2017
£1,000,000 pounds in 1840£96,837,837.84 pounds in 2017

How to calculate inflation rate for £500, 1840 to 2017

Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1840 and 2017:

CPI in 2017 CPI in 1840
×
1840 GBP value
=
2017 GBP value

Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 11.1 in the year 1840 and 1074.9 in 2017:

1074.911.1
×
£500
=
£48,418.92

£500 in 1840 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £48,418.92 in 2017.

To get the total inflation rate for the 177 years between 1840 and 2017, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2017 - CPI in 1840CPI in 1840
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (177 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

1074.9 - 11.111.1
×
100
=
9,584%

Data source & citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from the composite price index published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). A composite index is created by combining price data from several different published sources, both official and unofficial. The Consumer Price Index, normally used to compute inflation, has only been tracked since 1988. All inflation calculations after 1988 use the Office for National Statistics' Consumer Price Index, except for the current year, which is based on The Bank of England's forecast.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “£500 in 1840 → 2017 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 28 Mar. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1840-GBP-in-2017?amount=500.

Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.

in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.


Ian Webster

About the author

Ian Webster is an engineer and data expert based in San Mateo, California. He has worked for Google, NASA, and consulted for governments around the world on data pipelines and data analysis. Disappointed by the lack of clear resources on the impacts of inflation on economic indicators, Ian believes this website serves as a valuable public tool. Ian earned his degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

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» Read more about inflation and investment.

Inflation from 1840 to 2017
Cumulative price change9,583.78%
Average inflation rate2.62%
Converted amount
£500 base
£48,418.92
Price difference
£500 base
£47,918.92
CPI in 184011.100
CPI in 20171,074.900
Inflation in 18401.83%
Inflation in 20173.58%
£500 in 1840£48,418.92 in 2017