1967 is the base year for the CPI,
or at least it was, for years. Since I started working that year--i.e., graduated with a BA--I have forever fixed prices from that period as the "real" price of things. FWIW, the current CPI number is about 700--i.e., my 1967 dollars ('68, actually, since I went to graduate school for a year) are now worth about 14 cents.
Numbers from that period include 1) a new Mustang well-equipped (AC, V8 upgraded once, special suspension, auto, FM radio, but no power windows) was 3996 list and purchase 3399--including the MN 3% sales tax; 2) paying 28/32 cents a gallon for regular / premium gas; 3) living on a 325 dollar a month budget for six months, which included 125.00 for a standard apartment next to campus, $45.00 a month for food (my wife worked as a waitress, and would eat at work), and, for two months, the $60.00 / month gas bill when I drove 100 miles daily to my teaching internship. It even included a case of beer a month for entertainment, and we went to the occasional movie, paying $1.00 for admission. 4) The TV was a 12" Heathkit--battery powered, even, and 'transistorized' with six transisters the size of your index finger first joint--bought for $129.00 as a kit.
In the winter of 1968, we bought a closeout Honda 305 (Super Hawk), and got a luggage rack, two mirrors, helmets, and two custom tailored sets of Bates(?) leathers for $800.00. (Best buy I ever made, getting the last 305 from a MN motorcycle dealer in January.)
That fall, I started teaching as a HS English Teacher. I was paid the highest-starting salary in the state for a beginning Master's degree--$7590. I had no long-term debt, and my wife was gone--so I had a $20.00 a week 'entertainment' allowance. My new Nikormat FTN body was $180.00--but a gift from my parents for Christmas; the Nikkor-P 105 I coveted was $180.00 at the local (high-end) dealer, with pseudo discounting. However, he carried me with no interest for three months....
But, I wasn't buying firearms then--it was my hiatus period for the next twenty years.
However, in 1986, I inherited a Win 52B Sporter my uncle had built in 1935, IIRC. Complete with Lyman 'peep' sights, sling swivels, nice wood, and the ebony-tipped foreend. It cost him $54.50; it was the small bore he shot at Camp Perry. It is a 95% rifle now--and a cherished heirloom. That, and the Pre-27 .357 Magnum I inherited as well--3.5", P&R of course, a blued finish that was flawless, and Sanderson grips--got me going on shooting again. I bought my first handgun in 1988--a new SA 1911, mil-spec, and built on what SA then touted as the National Match (spec) frame, nicely blued-- $380.00. The Glock I bought (19) shortly thereafter was $390.00.
Over the years, I spent about $1600.00--perhaps in an average of 1992 dollars--modifying that 1911 into a decent club competition rig with a Bo-Star barrel, a Heine comp'ed fitted barrel, Ed Brown / Wilson parts, etc., etc. As good as it is--it is no better than the $950.00 Kimber STII (10mm) I bought NIB in 2007 for $950.00 plus MN's now-6.5% ST. It certainly isn't as good as the three higher-end custom 1911s Gun Tests recently went over--and those prices averaged about $2600; mine would cost at least 3000-plus in today's dollars.
For firearms today, we have a far-better selection of them in terms of models, and (with the exception of today's political pricing) better values for shooters. The price we pay for this is modern mass-production parts and fitting. Custom guns are a different matter, courtesy of such people as Bill Wilson and Richard Heine.
Jim H.
