1885

Birds fly, in the eye of the faithless daughter
Broken, at the bitter end
Wasted, sacrifice for a new nirvana
Night time, sends us on our way
--Icicle Works

Last night's temperature of -12 degrees broke the previous Cincinnati record low set in 1885. Of course, the process for measuring temperature back then differed from today's approach, making apples-to-apples comparison difficult.

1885 Morgan Dollar PCGS MS66

Also different in 1885 was the nature and value of the dollar. Back then, dollars were not printed on paper. They were struck from silver. A silver dollar in 1885 possessed the purchasing power of nearly fifty present day dollars.

1885-O Morgan Dollar PCGS MS67

In 1885, the dollar was backed by gold. An ounce of gold was worth about $20. Today, an ounce of gold is worth over $1200.

1885-S Morgan Dollar PCGS MS65 ex Simpson

Unlike the temperature comparison, we can be confident that the value of today's US dollar is nowhere near its value in 1885.

position in gold, silver