Value of £10 from 1889 to 2016
£10 in 1889 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £1,179.20 in 2016, an increase of £1,169.20 over 127 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 3.83% per year between 1889 and 2016, producing a cumulative price increase of 11,692.05%.
This means that prices in 2016 are 117.92 times as high as average prices since 1889, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.
The inflation rate in 1889 was 1.15%. The inflation rate in 2016 was 1.74%. The 2016 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 3.97% per year between 2016 and 2024.
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| Cumulative price change | 11,692.05% |
| Average inflation rate | 3.83% |
| Converted amount £10 base | £1,179.20 |
| Price difference £10 base | £1,169.20 |
| CPI in 1889 | 8.800 |
| CPI in 2016 | 1,037.700 |
| Inflation in 1889 | 1.15% |
| Inflation in 2016 | 1.74% |
| £10 in 1889 | £1,179.20 in 2016 |
Buying power of £10 in 1889
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £10 in 1889 (price index tracking began in 1750).
For example, if you started with £10, you would need to end with £1,179.20 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When £10 is equivalent to £1,179.20 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 1889 dollars, the chart below shows how £10 is worth less over 127 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:
This conversion table shows various other 1889 amounts in 2016 pounds, based on the 11,692.05% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| £1 pound in 1889 | £117.92 pounds in 2016 |
| £5 pounds in 1889 | £589.60 pounds in 2016 |
| £10 pounds in 1889 | £1,179.20 pounds in 2016 |
| £50 pounds in 1889 | £5,896.02 pounds in 2016 |
| £100 pounds in 1889 | £11,792.05 pounds in 2016 |
| £500 pounds in 1889 | £58,960.23 pounds in 2016 |
| £1,000 pounds in 1889 | £117,920.45 pounds in 2016 |
| £5,000 pounds in 1889 | £589,602.27 pounds in 2016 |
| £10,000 pounds in 1889 | £1,179,204.55 pounds in 2016 |
| £50,000 pounds in 1889 | £5,896,022.73 pounds in 2016 |
| £100,000 pounds in 1889 | £11,792,045.45 pounds in 2016 |
| £500,000 pounds in 1889 | £58,960,227.27 pounds in 2016 |
| £1,000,000 pounds in 1889 | £117,920,454.55 pounds in 2016 |
How to calculate inflation rate for £10, 1889 to 2016
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1889 and 2016:
CPI in 2016 CPI in 1889
×
1889 GBP value
=
2016 GBP value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 8.8 in the year 1889 and 1037.7 in 2016:
1037.78.8
×
£10
=
£1,179.20
£10 in 1889 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £1,179.20 in 2016.
To get the total inflation rate for the 127 years between 1889 and 2016, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2016 - CPI in 1889CPI in 1889
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (127 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
1037.7 - 8.88.8
×
100
=
11,692%
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: “£10 in 1889 → 2016 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 19 Apr. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1889-GBP-in-2016?amount=10.
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.
| Cumulative price change | 11,692.05% |
| Average inflation rate | 3.83% |
| Converted amount £10 base | £1,179.20 |
| Price difference £10 base | £1,169.20 |
| CPI in 1889 | 8.800 |
| CPI in 2016 | 1,037.700 |
| Inflation in 1889 | 1.15% |
| Inflation in 2016 | 1.74% |
| £10 in 1889 | £1,179.20 in 2016 |