Data on prices published in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have been transformed into machine-readable form. The original goal was to examine changes in prices and their relation to international trade in early modern Europe. That led in turn to a broader search for data on prices beginning in the High Middle Ages and going down to 1914. With the larger collection of figures studies of market integration became possible. Through support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada new series have been added over time and are available here in MS Excel spreadsheets.
Each data series for a commodity contains the source of the figures, the numbers reported in the indicated published source, and prices in grams of silver per litre. The conversions are based on the known quantity of silver in the relevant coinage and the size of the current measure used. For more complex conversions there is a data file with the silver amounts in the specific coins reported in the price series. Where the measures of the commodities were by weight rather than by volume the specific gravity of the grain is assumed to have been 0.8. Adjustments have been made where measures were heaped, that is not leveled to the size of a standard measure. Where different assumptions or conversions were used in order to generate the price series in grams of silver per litre there is an indication in the citation for the specific data series. A separate set of MS Excel files give the conversions used for various currencies to generate prices in grams of silver.
The raw data allow for manipulation or other conversions by anyone who wishes to exploit them in this form. The measures of grams of silver per litre make possible comparisons of the price series over time and across political boundaries. Having the figures in both forms should save duplication of the effort of transferring data to a digital format and make available the products of extensive research on price history by a number of scholars, done largely in the middle of the twentieth century as part of an international project.
The collection of price series is not complete. We would welcome any additions or suggestions for links to other price series from Europe or elsewhere in the World. We also welcome any corrections or suggestions for changes in the material now posted. Please contact us with any comments: bob.allen@nuffield.oxford.ac.uk or richard.unger@ubc.ca
We are grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the University of British Columbia for financial and logistical support. We are also grateful to Shannon Parker and Stephanie McWhinnie for all they did to gather and record the data. Our thanks also go to Judy Maxwell for her extensive work in developing Internet access to the Database and to Yves de Roo and the rest of the staff of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study and to Don McLenaghen for the latest contribution to making this data available to anyone who might want to use it
To submit a market commodity data sets please download this file
Email the completed form to:
ECPdb.history.ubc@gmail.com
To complete this form there are several pieces of information needed to make the data appropriate for inclusion in this database:
Data Source
Academic source - scholar responsible for the data. If this is new personal research, please state so
Published title - title of work from which the data were collected. If this is from as yet unpublished work, please state so.
Title bibliography - standard American Economic Review or American Historical Review referencing for the title
(ie date, publisher, ISBN number if possible)
Market Name/Location
Name - City (Moscow) or Region/Province/Duchy/Kingdom (Po Valley or Bavaria) or Country (France)
Latitude and Longitude - decimal location (43.125 N 0.564E)
Market Currency
If Currency data are already in the database, its name is needed
Example - Flemish Groot or English Penny
If it is a new currency, please provide an 'exchange' rate between the currency and grams of silver.
There is a place provided in the submission form for this information.
Note: If your exchange is non-varient (ie one exchange rate regardless of year) please indicate that as well where indicated on the form.
Commodity
This is the name of the commodity. There are no limitations.
If necessary, please include the "variety" brand or import of non-local commodities.
IE. Holstein wheat sold on the Antwerp market, would have a commody of 'wheat', variety of 'Holstein' and a market of "Antwerp". Unspecified wheat sold on the Anwtwerp market would leave blank the 'variety' information.
Commodity Units
Give the unit used to measure the commodity in the source as well as the metric equivalent for the unit in order to calculate a standard unit of measure. Report the source of the equivalence and method of conversion. Grain for example is converted to litres.
Market Prices
Each entry must have a single date and a non-converted value, that is both in the original currency and original units of measure.
