I was told by my father-in-law, this example: A $20 numerated gold piece in the 1900's would buy a nice suit. That same gold piece (kept all these years) today will buy a nice suit. [Oh, just saw Aspie beat me to the suit explanation, thumbs up!]
BTW, back in the 70s, I actually bought a good suit for exactly $20. It was near the end of a going out of business sale at a local men's store. Gold was as low as $100 per ounce during that period of time, so it was still a pretty amazing deal.
I was told by my father-in-law, this example: A $20 numerated gold piece in the 1900's would buy a nice suit. That same gold piece (kept all these years) today will buy a nice suit. [Oh, just saw Aspie beat me to the suit explanation, thumbs up!]
I've explained it this way for decades.
BTW, back in the 70s, I actually bought a good suit for exactly $20. It was near the end of a going out of business sale at a local men's store. Gold was as low as $100 per ounce during that period of time, so it was still a pretty amazing deal.