sources: 14660

{
    "link": "Appendix kindly sent by Daniel Sichel.",
    "retrievedDate": "15/02/2018",
    "additionalInfo": "There are three main types of nails: hand forged, machine cut, and wire. Blacksmiths produced hand forged nails until about 1820. Cut nails have been produced using a machine which cuts nails from sheets of iron or steel - technology patents for this machinery emerging in the late 18th century. Wire nails became more widely produced in the late 19th century with individual nails cut from a coil of drawn wire, one end sharpened at the tip, and the head of the nail added to the other (Sichel (2017)). \r\n\r\nReal prices are calculated using Sichel\u2019s (2017) consumer price index (CPI) dating back to 1695 constructed from the UK retail price index (RPI) from 1695-1784, and US CPI from 1784-2011. 2010 is used as the base year, so all prices adjusted for inflation are in terms of 2010 dollars. To calculate real price of nails in cents/lb, we use the following procedure:\r\n\r\nReal price of nails (cents/lb) = Nominal price of nails (cents/lb) divided by (CPI /100) \r\n\r\nHowever, the real price of nails measured in units of cents per pound can obscure quality differences. To adjust for differences in quality, Sichel (2017) standardizes nail sizes, converting all nails to be as close as possible to a 2\u201d, size 6d nail, to construct real prices in cents per nail. The counts of nails per pound used for each year can be found in Table 3 of Sichel\u2019s (2017) working paper.\r\n\r\nIn calculating the real price of nails (cents/nail), we first convert units from cents per pound to cents per nail, and then convert from nominal to real prices. \r\n\r\nNominal price of nails (cents/nail) = Nominal price of nail (cents/lb) x 1/[count of nails per pound]\r\n\r\nReal price of nails (cents/nail) = Nominal price of nails (cents/nail) divided by (CPI/100)\r\n\r\nThe nominal price series for nails, from which the real series have been constructed, are comprised of multiple data sources. \r\n\r\nFrom 1695 to 1792, prices are from Beveridge (1939) in the United Kingdom. Where data is not reported for selected years, the values for these years are interpolated. Prices have been converted from shillings to cents. \r\n\r\nFor the period 1784 to 1813 prices are sourced from Cole (1938) although the type of nails have not been specified and are thus assumed to be mixed (forged and cut) nails. \r\n\r\nFrom 1814 to 1890 data covers machine-cut nail prices. Between 1814 and 1828, prices are taken from Cole (1938). Quotes for later years are from various sources with the data reproduced in \u2018Historical Statistics of the United States\u2019. \r\n\r\nThe period covering 1890 up until 2011 refers to wire nails. This section of the data series includes data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. \r\nFor greater detail in the construction of this dataset, please see Sichel\u2019s (2017)* working paper referenced below. \r\n\r\nReferences: \r\n\r\nBeveridge, William (1939), Prices and Wages in England from the Twelfth to the Nineteenth Century, Vol. I, Price Tables: Mercantile Era, Longmans, Green, and Co., London.\r\n\r\nCole, Arthur Harrison (1938), Wholesale Commodity Prices in the United States 1700-1861, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.\r\n\r\n*Sichel, Daniel E. (2017), The Price of Nails since 1695: Even Simple Products Experienced Large Price Declines Over the Centuries.\r\n\r\nUnited States Bureau of the Census (1975), Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to the Present, Washington, D.C.",
    "dataPublishedBy": "Daniel E. Sichel (2017). The Price of Nails since 1695:  Even Simple Products Experienced Large Price Declines Over the Centuries. ",
    "dataPublisherSource": "Historical data. "
}