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March 21

Dealing with historical currencies

When I’m dealing with historical articles about art, it is inevitable that I will read a source that makes a point of saying that a specific artwork sold for either too little (more common) or too much (less common) in its time. The problem is that the author rarely does a currency conversion to illustrate the equivalent amount in today’s currency. I’ve looked into this ongoing problem twice, and in both instances, there wasn’t a good answer to the question. Which raises the point: why isn’t there a good standard conversion chart for historical currencies? For example, in this article about a painting by Renoir I’m putting together, it says:

Renoir started his work in the spring and sold it at auction to French art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel on March 24, 1875, for only 300 francs.

This emphasis on "only" x amount of y currency is typical in the starving artist literature. But when one tries to lookup the currency conversion for 300 francs in 1875, a vast rabbit hole opens up and there doesn’t appear to be an answer. Like I’ve said, this is at least the second time I’ve run into this brick wall, and it seems odd to me that no researcher has simply done the hard work and figured out a good answer to this problem. To summarize: how much would 300 francs in 1875 be equivalent to in US dollars or euros in 2022? Viriditas (talk) 03:37, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

There are websites for historical currency conversions. If I did it right, this "Portal for Historical Statistics" computes your conversion as ~$1369 (US, 2015); or, "the amount a male worker in Sweden received in wage for [approximately] 965 hours of work". Not bad for a starving artist, if you ask me. 2603:6081:1C00:1187:AC61:49CB:11A:6915 (talk) 03:53, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The notion of an artwork selling for "too little" or "too much", whether in its time or in any time, presupposes that it has an intrinsic value expressible in a monetary unit, rather than a market value determined purely by the value at which seller and buyer reach an agreement. --Lambiam 10:06, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

There are various ways to calculate the exchange rate between two currencies, and even more if there is a significant time gap involved That's why there isn't "a good standard conversion chart for historical currencies:” competing needs.

If you want to know the value of a something sold for Spanish pesos in 1800, but in 2022 euros, first bear in mind that the euro didn't exist in 1800, and the original currency doesn't exist in 2022. Next, consider that the first sale (perhaps in Madrid) and the second (Paris?) involve two different economies. Third, compare the cost of living in each place. Finally, look for a good substitute that might give a ballpark figure, because exact numbers will necessarily be false.

One option is gold: Translate the 1800 peso price into gold, then translate the gold into 2022 euros. Another option, particularly when dealing with the cost of living, is bread: how many loaves can one buy in each time/place for the amounts involved. A third option is something like a house, or other common but immobile object, which may still exist and be priced in the new time / place. DOR (HK) (talk) 19:32, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

The portal linked above does it by ...comparing the worth of various sums in various currencies in their purchasing power of Swedish consumer goods and the pay of workers in Sweden.^[1] 2603:6081:1C00:1187:AC61:49CB:11A:6915 (talk) 21:33, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Well, I don't know about a house. Try using that for the same purpose in present-day North America alone. Temerarius (talk) 16:02, 24 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you, everyone. Viriditas (talk) 02:25, 22 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

How to get a person on Wikipedia

Hello! I am working as an admin to a UK based author - RR Haywood and we are wondering how we can get him on wikipedia. This would definitely help his readers a lot especially when it comes to one of his biggest work - The Undead series. A zombie apocalyptic series with already 25 books out. He also had a sci-fi series called The Code Series - with already two books available on both ebook and audiobook via Amazon narrated by Colin Morgan.

I would greatly appreciate if you could enlighten us and lead us to the right direction.

Thank you very much, Hannah — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C4:E587:9400:3CFF:D46B:9D89:14D3 (talk) 20:24, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Have a look at Help:Your first article and Wikipedia:Conflict of interest. Your main problem is likely to be demonstrating that Mr Haywood is notable, i.e. has already received significant coverage in reliable sources such as books, journals, newspapers and reputable (i.e. not user-generated) websites. --Viennese Waltz 20:40, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

When you say "This would definitely help hes readers a lot", I suspect you mean "This would definitely help him a lot". When I search on Ecosia for "R R Haywood", the very first hit is Haywood's website, so how is a Wikipedia article about him (which should be based entirely on what wholly independent sources have said about him, good or bad, not on what he or his associates say or want to say) going to "help his readers a lot"? , I suspect that, like many people, you have come here for the purpose of promotion, not realising that this is forbidden on Wikipedia. ColinFine (talk) 21:48, 21 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

You should also read Wikipedia:An article about yourself isn't necessarily a good thing. You will have no control over the article, and many people have come to regret having a Wikipedia article about themselves. Shantavira|^{feed me} 09:23, 22 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]