For a look at grocery prices in 1963, this ad appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sixty years ago today, March 21, 1963. (You can click on the image for a larger version.)  In those sixty years, the dollar has lost purchasing power, and a dime in 1963 was the equivalent of about a dollar today. Specifically, according to this inflation calculator, the 1963 dollar would be worth $9.78 in 2023.

So the coffee looks like a bargain at 49 cents a pound, but that’s the equivalent of almost $5 today.  Bread is two loaves for 39 cents, but that’s almost $2 a loaf in today’s money.  Most of the venerable Swanson TV Dinners were about 59 cents each, although if you were on a budget, the macaroni and cheese TV dinner would set you back only 39 cents.

They no longer come in the familiar aluminum tray (which, of course, was useful for many other purposes once the meal was done), but the modern equivalent of what was my favorite is still available.  And adjusted for inflation, the price is about the same:

If you were shopping for groceries 60 years ago, what would you be having for dinner?

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For a look at grocery prices 40 years ago, this ad appeared in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette on February 24, 1983. There’s been a lot of inflation in 40 years, and according to this online inflation calculator, one dollar in 1983 was the equivalent of almost exactly $3 today. So ground beef was only $1.29 per pound, but that’s about $3.87 today.

The price of eggs aren’t shown, but I bet they would be a bargain compared to today. If you were making dinner 40 years ago, what would you buy?  You can click on the image to see a larger version.

For a snapshot of grocery prices in 1973, this ad for Giant Eagle appeared in the Pittsburgh Press, October 13, 1973. The prices look like bargains, but according to this online inflation calcualtor, one dollar in 1973 had the buying power of $6.67 in 2022. So the ground beef for 99 cents a pound works out to $6.60 a pound in today’s money.

Bananas at a dime a pound work out to just 67 cents a pound, so they were a pretty good deal. What would you buy for dinner in 1973? And when you take inflation into consideration, how do the prices compare to today’s prices, which you can find on Amazon?  (You can click on the image above for a full size version.)

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For a snapshot of grocery prices in 1955, this ad appeared in the Pittsburgh Press September 27, 1955. The prices look low, but according to this online inflation calculator, one dollar in 1955 was the equivalent of $11.05 in 2022 buying power. So the two loaves of bread for 29 cents works out to $3.20 today, or $1.60 for a one-pound loaf. How does that compare to today’s prices, at the link below?

Of course, the 1955 bread included a coupon for dime off a cake or pastry. Margarine was 33 cents a pound, the equivalent of $3.64 today. And Velveeta cheese was 2 pounds for 89 cents the equivalent of $9.83. How do those compare to current prices?

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For a snapshot of Depression-era grocery prices, this ad appeared on this date, September 16, 1938, in the Pittsburgh Press.  These prices might look like bargains, but money was hard to come by, and there’s been a lot of inflation since then. According to this inflation calculator, the 3 pounds of butter for one dollar is the equivalent of about $21 today, or about $7 per pound. How does that compare to today’s price, which you can find at this link?

A loaf of bread to put that butter on was a dime, but that was over $2 in today’s money.  Campbell’s Tomato Soup is 6 cans for 40 cents, or less than 7 cents per can. But that’s about $1.47 in 2022 dollars. How does that compare to the current price shown at this link?

Of course, the highlight for many would be the scrapple, two pounds for 29 cents.  The price appears to have gone up since then, as you can see at this link:

If you were shopping for dinner in 1938, what would you buy?

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For a snapshot of the cost of food during the Depression, this ad for A&P Stores appeared in the Washington Evening Star, August 17, 1933. The prices look like bargains, but money was scarce during the Depression, and there has been a lot of inflation in the years since then. According to this inflation calculator, one dollar in 1933 is the equivalent of $22.79 in 2022 dollars. So six cans of beans for 25 cents sounds like it would be a cheap way to eat, but that works out to about 95 cents a can today. According to this report, a coal miner in 1932 earned $13.91 per week, so even those four cents would be significant, and that assumes that someone had a job at all.

A six pack of beer was 75 cents for Pabst, or 50 cents for a brand called Michel. A pack of cigarettes cost a dime. Butter was 2 pounds for 49 cents, which works out to $5.58 per pound in today’s money. A pound of peanut butter was 12 cents, or about $2.73 in today’s money.

So even though the prices look low, pictures like that shown below were not uncommon either.

SSA.gov image.

To get an idea of grocery prices in the United States in 1923, this ad appeared in the Washington Times on August 14, 1923. Everything looks cheap, but there’s been a lot of inflation in the last 99 years. According to this online inflation calculator, one dollar in 1923 was the equivalent of $17.33 in 2022 money, so to compare, you need to multiply these prices by that amount.

For example, five pounds of flour was 27 cents, but that’s the same as $4.68 today. How does that compare to today’s actual price, shown below?

Similarly, a pound of butter was 52 cents, but that’s over $9 in today’s money. And 10 pounds of sugar was 83 cents, the same as $14.39 today. How does that compare to the current prices shown below?

A can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup was 9 cents, but that’s the same as $1.56 today. How does that compare?

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For a snapshot of grocery prices in 1953, this ad appeared in the July 28, 1953 edition of the Pittsburgh Press.  (You can click on the image above for a larger version.)

These prices look low, but there’s been a lot of inflation since 1953. According to this online inflation calculator, one dollar in 1953 is the equivalent of $11.10 in 2022 dollars. So the 25 pound bag of flour for $2.05 would be the same as $22.75 today. You can compare that to the link below, which shows today’s price for 24 pounds:

The price is pretty close, but the 1953 version contained a silver teaspoon inside the bag! And I’m guessing that more households bought flour 25 pounds at a time than they do today.

Ground beef was 2 pounds for 89 cents, which works out to $4.93 per pound in today’s money. How does that compare to today’s price below?

If you were doing your family’s grocery shopping in 1953, what would you buy? And do you think you would spend more time in the kitchen preparing dinner than you do now?

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For a snapshot of grocery prices 55 years ago, this Kroger ad appeared in the Pittsburgh Press on July 5, 1967. The prices look very low, but there’s been a lot of inflation over the intervening years. According to this online inflation calculator, one dollar in 1967 was the equivalent of $8.75 in 2022 dollars. So the loaves of bread look like a bargain for a quarter, but that’s the same as $2.19 in today’s money. What would you have for dinner if you bought your groceries in 1967?

Click on the image above to view a full-size copy of the ad.