Can anyone convert this into US dollars?

[Robisme]

I bought this AU-555a from the original owner. He bought it in 1971 in Hong Kong and does not remember how much he paid.
It looks like 588 somethings. Just curious. Thanks.

Rob

 

[tentoze]

I think it's the equivalent of 186 something elses.

 

[willyrover]

Well....588 Hong Kong Dollars (assuming the payment was in HK Dollars) converts to about 75$US.

And using an inflation calculator, something that cost you 75$ in 1971 would be roughly $360 as of 2005.

 

[Robisme]

I think it's the equivalent of 186 something elses.

If nothing else, that was funny.

It looks like, above the amount, the type of currency used is circled.

Rob

 

[Sandy G]

i think that's some of "Dat Ol' Yang Money" Richard Pryor was talking about in "Mudbone"...

 

[luvvinvinyl]

I thought so, too, until I realized that the 'circle' is the lower loop of the 'g' in 'August'.

 

[luvvinvinyl]

Above each heading is a pair of characters, one for each of the two main Chinese dialects, Mandarin and Cantonese, IIRC.

 

[Blue Shadow]

First convert the currency to the currency you want on the date of the transaction:

http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic

Then run the inflation calculator to find out the value today of the amount back in the day, if that is of interest:

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/

But using these resources, the first one does not return the answer. The reason is shown on this site:

http://intl.econ.cuhk.edu.hk/exchange_rate_regime/index.php?cid=5

The chart in this link indicates the conversion is between 6.060 and 5.582 so using that range the HK$588 is US$97-105 and then the inflation calculator for US$ says that $100 in 1971 is $476 in 2005 the last available date for the calculator.

This is one way to do it. Other ways must exist. So that is my guess.

 

[Celadon]

i think that's some of "Dat Ol' Yang Money" Richard Pryor was talking about in "Mudbone"...

Is It Something I Said?
I sure would like to quote some of that Pryor here, but....

I guess I better not!

 

[Arkay]

Blue Shadow is correct: you can't just use the current "fixed" ("linked" is the correct term; it fluctuates within a fraction of a percent) conversion rate of 7.8 to 1 for converting HK Dollars, if it was before 1982 (or was it 1983..?:headscrat ). Before that time, the HK dollar fluctuated freely against the dollar, so you have to use a historical rates table and then make the conversion.

I remember when the link was extablished. In the weeks leading up to it, the currency exchange rate started moving really fast under pressure from big speculators. The government stabilized it to keep the currency from starting a free-fall/collapse. Since I hadn't been in HK very long back then, most of my money was still in US dollars. I made a nice one-time "windfall" by exchanging some at 9 and then more at 9.5 to 1, just before the rate was fixed at 7.8. It was as if everything had suddenly been discounted. My only regret was that I didn't have even more money to make a bigger windfall out of the situation.

 

[Robisme]

I thought so, too, until I realized that the 'circle' is the lower loop of the 'g' in 'August'.

:stupid: Woops.

Thanks for the info guys.

Rob