Value of £40 from 1885 to 2017
£40 in 1885 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £4,885.91 in 2017, an increase of £4,845.91 over 132 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 3.71% per year between 1885 and 2017, producing a cumulative price increase of 12,114.77%.
This means that prices in 2017 are 122.15 times as high as average prices since 1885, according to the Office for National Statistics composite price index.
The inflation rate in 1885 was -3.30%. The inflation rate in 2017 was 3.58%. The 2017 inflation rate is lower compared to the average inflation rate of 4.03% per year between 2017 and 2024.
⌃
| Cumulative price change | 12,114.77% |
| Average inflation rate | 3.71% |
| Converted amount £40 base | £4,885.91 |
| Price difference £40 base | £4,845.91 |
| CPI in 1885 | 8.800 |
| CPI in 2017 | 1,074.900 |
| Inflation in 1885 | -3.30% |
| Inflation in 2017 | 3.58% |
| £40 in 1885 | £4,885.91 in 2017 |
Buying power of £40 in 1885
This chart shows a calculation of buying power equivalence for £40 in 1885 (price index tracking began in 1750).
For example, if you started with £40, you would need to end with £4,885.91 in order to "adjust" for inflation (sometimes refered to as "beating inflation").
When £40 is equivalent to £4,885.91 over time, that means that the "real value" of a single U.K. pound decreases over time. In other words, a pound will pay for fewer items at the store.
This effect explains how inflation erodes the value of a pound over time. By calculating the value in 1885 dollars, the chart below shows how £40 is worth less over 132 years.
According to the Office for National Statistics, each of these GBP amounts below is equal in terms of what it could buy at the time:
This conversion table shows various other 1885 amounts in 2017 pounds, based on the 12,114.77% change in prices:
| Initial value | Equivalent value |
|---|---|
| £1 pound in 1885 | £122.15 pounds in 2017 |
| £5 pounds in 1885 | £610.74 pounds in 2017 |
| £10 pounds in 1885 | £1,221.48 pounds in 2017 |
| £50 pounds in 1885 | £6,107.39 pounds in 2017 |
| £100 pounds in 1885 | £12,214.77 pounds in 2017 |
| £500 pounds in 1885 | £61,073.86 pounds in 2017 |
| £1,000 pounds in 1885 | £122,147.73 pounds in 2017 |
| £5,000 pounds in 1885 | £610,738.64 pounds in 2017 |
| £10,000 pounds in 1885 | £1,221,477.27 pounds in 2017 |
| £50,000 pounds in 1885 | £6,107,386.36 pounds in 2017 |
| £100,000 pounds in 1885 | £12,214,772.73 pounds in 2017 |
| £500,000 pounds in 1885 | £61,073,863.64 pounds in 2017 |
| £1,000,000 pounds in 1885 | £122,147,727.27 pounds in 2017 |
How to calculate inflation rate for £40, 1885 to 2017
Our calculations use the following inflation rate formula to calculate the change in value between 1885 and 2017:
CPI in 2017 CPI in 1885
×
1885 GBP value
=
2017 GBP value
Then plug in historical CPI values. The U.K. CPI was 8.8 in the year 1885 and 1074.9 in 2017:
1074.98.8
×
£40
=
£4,885.91
£40 in 1885 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as £4,885.91 in 2017.
To get the total inflation rate for the 132 years between 1885 and 2017, we use the following formula:
CPI in 2017 - CPI in 1885CPI in 1885
×
100
=
Cumulative inflation rate (132 years)
Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:
1074.9 - 8.88.8
×
100
=
12,115%
Data source & citation
Raw data for these calculations comes from the composite price index published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS). A composite index is created by combining price data from several different published sources, both official and unofficial. The Consumer Price Index, normally used to compute inflation, has only been tracked since 1988. All inflation calculations after 1988 use the Office for National Statistics' Consumer Price Index, except for the current year, which is based on The Bank of England's forecast.
You may use the following MLA citation for this page: “£40 in 1885 → 2017 | UK Inflation Calculator.” Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 12 Dec. 2024, https://www.officialdata.org/1885-GBP-in-2017?amount=40.
Special thanks to QuickChart for their chart image API, which is used for chart downloads.
in2013dollars.com is a reference website maintained by the Official Data Foundation.
| Cumulative price change | 12,114.77% |
| Average inflation rate | 3.71% |
| Converted amount £40 base | £4,885.91 |
| Price difference £40 base | £4,845.91 |
| CPI in 1885 | 8.800 |
| CPI in 2017 | 1,074.900 |
| Inflation in 1885 | -3.30% |
| Inflation in 2017 | 3.58% |
| £40 in 1885 | £4,885.91 in 2017 |