justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Just found a lost 1925 dime,

and was wondering…

As I was packing for a recent move, I found a 1925 dime in the pocket of a pair of pants. Once past the delight of that nice little surprise, my thoughts wandered to what might be found in the pockets of other clothes I’d not worn for awhile. After that, I found myself wondering what this well-worn dime was worth many years ago.

A1925 dollar would be worth $12.20 today. The US population was estimated at 11.8 million. The average cost of a house was $8,580. The average cost of a car was $375 and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle cost around $200. An average annual salary was $1,236.

America was in the midst of the “Roaring Twenties,” an era with a heavy emphasis on commerce that in turn produced incredible business growth. More than 40 million Americans went to the movies each week and their average ticket was 30 cents – three of my dimes. There were 20 million cars on the road. Owning a radio was, for most Americans, as important as owning a computer today. 1925 was the year cigarettes were first marketed to women.  Spam, processed meat in a can, was introduced and is still being sold to this day. The cost of a full year at an Ivy League college – tuition, room and board - less than $1,400.

Our grocery list at 1925 prices would read, as follows:

Eggs              .48/doz.

Milk              .       14/quart

Bread              .09/loaf

Chuck steak       .21/lb.

Potatoes              .03/lb.

Flour              .05/lb.

Sugar              .09/lb.

Coffee              .47/lb.

Bacon              .04/lb.

Looking back at the time when my 1925 was minted provides a snapshot of the business world a long time ago and a country much, much different than current day. A normal education consisted of finishing the eighth grade. Women were allowed to vote following the passage of the 19^th amendment only five years earlier and the first woman governor was elected in Wyoming in 1925. The debate still raging today about the teaching of evolution in schools got its start with the Scopes “Monkey Trial” in 1925.

I find it fun to occasionally look back at a time without checking accounts, credit cards, television, FM radio, and only a rare telephone or two (complete with operators and party lines). As a teacher, my life would have been much different. “Spare the rod, spoil the child” would have been the order of the day – without any concern or thought given to student engagement and interaction, my favored way of teaching.

Although…with a 1925 grade school teacher salary of $1,650 a year (in NYC), I would have been about 25% above that annual salary across the country. Livin’ high, eh?

Now I’m wondering what era saw the drop in teachers’ salaries below the national average…and why.