French Franc 1908 to US dollar 2009 question

[BarcodeOnTheBack-migration]

I am trying to figure out how much a monetary prize of 20,000 French francs won in 1908 would be worth today in US dollars. (if you're curious, that was the amount of the Coupe Michelin prize the Wright Brothers won at the very end of 1908) I would like to list a contemporary amount that the prize would be worth today, in US dollars for an article that I'm writing.

 

I can easily do a cpi/inflation calculation of US dollars for that period, but I'm having a heck of a time getting a conversion of French Francs to US dollars from 1908. After two hours of research, the best I can do is go back to 1913, when there was roughly a conversion of 5.1 francs to the dollar. Lots of things can happen in 5 years, though, and I just don't trust using that number.

 

Can anyone give me a more accurate number, or perhaps provide me with an online resource that shows 1908 franc currency conversions that might help me out? Thanks!

[DaveG]

Because the world's major currencies were (mostly) on the Gold Standard in the 19th Century and at the beginning of the 20th Century, the official exchange rates didn't change, so you can feel comfortable using the exchange rate you have (roughly 1 Franc = 19.5 US cents).

 

(Just as background, the gold content of the French Franc stayed the same from the beginning of the 19th Century until WWI.)

 

In practice, of course, exchange rates did fluctuate somewhat. Gold would flow in and out of individual countries as that nation's banking system would raise or lower interest rates.

[jtryka]

In terms of gold, it would be about 189 ounces of gold, at spot of about $920 that would be about $174,000 today.