How much did things cost in 1973?
These are prices of some sample items in 1973.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1973? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1973 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
| 1973 price | Income adjusted | |
|---|---|---|
| Gallon of petrol | 39p | £8.70 |
| Bottle of whisky (Haig) (Co-op) | £2.45 | £55 |
| Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Co-op) | £1.45 | £32 |
| Watneys Party 4 (Co-op) | 45p | £10 |
| Watneys Party 7 (Mac Markets) | 78p | £17 |
| Pint of beer | 18½p | £4.10 |
| 20 cigarettes | 26.5p | £1.10 |
| Pint of milk | 5½p | £1.20 |
| Large loaf of bread | 11½p | £2.60 |
| 22" Pye colour TV (Currys) | £208.90 | £4,700 |
| 24" Ferguson black & white TV (Currys) | £61.75 | £1,400 |
| The Daily Mirror newspaper | 3p | 67p |
| Average house price | £9,000.00 | £200,000 |
| ½lb Lurpack Danish butter (Tesco) | 10½p | £2.30 |
| Nescafé 8oz coffee (Tesco) | 54p | £12 |
| Can of Coke (Mac Markets) | 5½p | £1.20 |
| Ford Cortina car | £1,075.00 | £24,000 |
| Polaris refridgerator (Currys) | £30.95 | £690 |
| Hotpoint Supermatic twin tub washing machine (Currys) | £73.36 | £1,600 |
| Bendix Autowasher Deluxe automatic washing machine (Currys) | £106.95 | £2,400 |
| Golden Wonder crisps | 2½p | 56p |
| One dozen large white eggs | 32p | £7.10 |
| 1lb Stork Soft margarine (Tesco) | 12½p | £2.80 |
The income adjusted prices are based on the Bank of England's Three Centuries Macroeconomic Dataset Version 2.3 - 30 June 2016. I have updated the income figures based on the ONS: Series code KAB9, adjusted to bring the figures inline with the Bank of England's.
For a comparison of prices in 1973 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1973
By Steven Braggs, updated May 2022
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Comments
your price's are wrong 1973 I was there & a lot of them are wrong ,thanks
Perhaps you could tell me which prices are wrong and give a source of the information please?
All of this information is sourced from contemporary newspapers, government figures or in the case of petrol, from the AA.
best regards