So what's the price of gas, really?

[phooph]

In the early 1960s you could buy a gallon of gas for 30 - 33 cents a gallon.

Now it is averaging around $4 a gallon.

I looked up the melt price* of a pre 1964 90% silver Washington quarter today and the price was
$2.9966 A 1946 -2008 nickel is worth
0.0584 That gives us a grand total of
$3.055
or shall we say $3.06 in current value of the metal in those coins.

(*The melt price is simply the value of the metal not the value of the coin as a collectors item. The value of the nickel in a nickel is currently more than the face value. )

If we go back to the 1942-1945 nickel we get a value that looks like this:
$2.9966
0.9932
$3.9898

Which is pretty close to the current price of gas.

If we do the 33¢ a gallon price using the two nickel issues it looks like this:
$2.9966
0.0584 (current '46 - '08 nickel)
0.0239 (pre 1982 copper penny)
0.0239 "
$3.1028 or $3.10

or

$2.9966
0.9932 (1942-45 nickel)
0.0239 (pre 1982 copper penny)
0.0239 "
$4.0376

Although growing world wide demand has bumped up against daily oil field production limits, it looks like what is changing most is the value of the dollar. So while the media keeps harping about the price of gas, their real culprit at this stage is the rapid rate of inflation.

Here is a chart from January that shows the value of oil in dollars, Euros, and gold. You can see the divergence.
https://matt-that.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/chart-small.gif
This chart is elsewhere but matt-that had the nicest one.

Now consider that the dollar value of gold is being manipulated to keep it lower than it should be. The price comparison between gold and oil probably paints a clearer picture.

So how many of us are seeing an increase in our earnings to reflect the loss of value of our currency? That would push many of us into higher tax bracket so it might just be a wash.

Ruth

[MsTerry]

I've got some of those silver nickels, how long do I need to cook them to get my $2.9996 back?

[phooph]

Everything you wanted to know about nickel coins is here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel_(United_States_coin)

Right now the wartime nickel is selling for around a dollar - unmelted.



I've got some of those silver nickels, how long do I need to cook them to get my $2.9996 back?

[Zeno Swijtink]

Of course you need to take into account the inflation of money, and express the price of gas over time in constant dollars, such as in this graph that covers the period 1920-2006.

Average Annual Retail Price of Gasoline, 1920-2006
https://www.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/images/facts/fotw426.gif

This graph is taken from the website of the US Department of Energy that provides an interesting series of Facts of the Week, archived for this year at

https://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2008_index.html

You learn for instance "What Consumers Will Do to Save Three Cents per Gallon" (Fact for early March): 42% will "Drive 5 minutes out of my way," to save 3*cents per gallon.

I bet that % has risen since March.

This gas price locator can help you find the cheapest gas prices in Sonoma County. "Why waste money on expensive gas when you could be spending that money on a new car?"

https://www.motortrend.com/gas_prices/32/california/sonoma/index.html

[OrchardDweller]

This congressman has been explaining the rising price of oil (and everything else) for quite some time now...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLGvybCr6AM&NR=1

[Tars]

Your title question is, "what's the price of gas, really?"

I listened to an author who maintains that the actual cost of a gallon of gas is MUCH higher...when you factor in the impact of war in the Middle East on the price of oil, oil corps' price fixing/profiteering, increase in the price of food, and the real biggee, global climate change.

We're still paying a very low price for fuel. Our current fuel costs will mainly be paid for by our grandchildren, and their grandchildren.

[phooph]

Environmental degradation, taxpayer subsidies, militarly expenses, etc. have always been unfactored costs in the price of oil and its deriviatives. Back when we were paying 99¢ a gallon for gas it was pointed out that if all the costs were factored in we would be paying $4 or $5 a gallon.


Your title question is, "what's the price of gas, really?"

I listened to an author who maintains that the actual cost of a gallon of gas is MUCH higher...when you factor in the impact of war in the Middle East on the price of oil, oil corps' price fixing/profiteering, increase in the price of food, and the real biggee, global climate change.

We're still paying a very low price for fuel. Our current fuel costs will mainly be paid for by our grandchildren, and their grandchildren.