Yesterday's gun and ammo prices in today's dollars

[Jim K]

In a 1903 catalog, 9mm Luger ammo (presumably imported) sold for $2.50 per 100. At a 40::1 conversion to today's dollars, that is $100. I have seen similar high prices for ammo in other old catalogs, but can't lay my hands on them right now. IIRC, prices equivalent to $40-60 a box of 50 were common for center fire revolver cartridges.

Hi, DaveHH,

I was giving the modern equivalents. The actual pay for a a cowboy or a soldier was $.50 a day, but they got "room and board"*. A laborer got $1 a day, a skilled worker $2. My grandfather and great uncle were stonemasons; in 1900, a master mason got $2.50 a day, a journeyman $1.50-2.00.

An odd variation from our common belief is that few cowboys carried guns; an SAA cost over a month's pay and many ranches banned handguns. Rifles and shotguns were "issued" as needed.

*The term "board" has come to mean renting a room, but at the time it meant the room and two meals a day - the "board" was the dining room table. Of course, cowboys and soldiers often didn't really have a "room", being in a barracks or bunkhouse, a tent, or just a bedroll.

Jim