What $10,000 of Gold Bought in Each Year Since 1971 Is Worth Now
As of October 9, 2026, $10,000 of gold bought in the middle year from 1971 to 2025 is worth $38,567 after inflation. The table below values that $10,000 for every year, at the September 2026 average price of $4,319. The Gold Barometer reads 33 out of 100.
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Since 1971 that has happened 94 times, about twice a year. The last time was March 2026.
What the record says
Every purchase year from 1971 to 2025 is ahead at the September 2026 price, before and after inflation. The way there was not smooth. Gold bought in 1980 spent 25 years and 3 months below the price paid.
Two figures for each year. The first counts dollars. The second counts what the dollars buy, using the US consumer price index. The gap between them is wide for the early years and narrow for the recent ones.
The table is only as kind as the September 2026 price. It is recomputed each month, and a lower price would turn the most recent years negative first. A buyer also paid a premium above the average price, which the table leaves out.
$10,000 of gold, year by year
Read one row across: what the year cost, what it is worth now in dollars, then in buying power.
| Year bought | Price paid, year average | Worth now | Change, before inflation | Worth now, after inflation | Change, after inflation | Worst drop on the way | Longest run below the price paid | Barometer that year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | $41 | $1,055,560 | +10455.6% | $127,933 | +1179.3% | none | none | 58 · Mixed |
| 1972 | $58 | $742,521 | +7325.2% | $92,999 | +830.0% | none | none | 14 · Historically very unfavorable |
| 1973 | $97 | $443,733 | +4337.3% | $59,103 | +491.0% | none | none | 42 · Mixed |
| 1974 | $159 | $271,209 | +2612.1% | $40,057 | +300.6% | -30.9% | 26 months | 58 · Mixed |
| 1975 | $161 | $268,400 | +2584.0% | $43,148 | +331.5% | -31.6% | 22 months | 64 · Favorable |
| 1976 | $125 | $345,981 | +3359.8% | $58,919 | +489.2% | none | none | 56 · Mixed |
| 1977 | $148 | $292,483 | +2824.8% | $53,093 | +430.9% | none | none | 51 · Mixed |
| 1978 | $193 | $223,589 | +2135.9% | $43,715 | +337.2% | none | none | 47 · Mixed |
| 1979 | $307 | $140,799 | +1308.0% | $30,790 | +207.9% | -16.5% | 30 months | 53 · Mixed |
| 1980 | $608 | $71,056 | +610.6% | $17,499 | +75.0% | -57.9% | 303 months | 52 · Mixed |
| 1981 | $460 | $93,942 | +839.4% | $25,492 | +154.9% | -44.3% | 212 months | 33 · Unfavorable |
| 1982 | $376 | $114,943 | +1049.4% | $33,227 | +232.3% | -31.9% | 81 months | 22 · Unfavorable |
| 1983 | $423 | $102,205 | +922.0% | $30,433 | +204.3% | -39.4% | 194 months | 15 · Historically very unfavorable |
| 1984 | $361 | $119,806 | +1098.1% | $37,242 | +272.4% | -29.0% | 80 months | 25 · Unfavorable |
| 1985 | $318 | $135,818 | +1258.2% | $43,742 | +337.4% | -19.5% | 55 months | 29 · Unfavorable |
| 1986 | $368 | $117,444 | +1074.4% | $38,567 | +285.7% | -30.4% | 80 months | 22 · Unfavorable |
| 1987 | $446 | $96,748 | +867.5% | $32,914 | +229.1% | -42.7% | 206 months | 21 · Unfavorable |
| 1988 | $437 | $98,814 | +888.1% | $34,955 | +249.5% | -41.4% | 190 months | 31 · Unfavorable |
| 1989 | $381 | $113,236 | +1032.4% | $41,992 | +319.9% | -32.9% | 85 months | 42 · Mixed |
| 1990 | $384 | $112,621 | +1026.2% | $44,016 | +340.2% | -33.2% | 86 months | 42 · Mixed |
| 1991 | $362 | $119,227 | +1092.3% | $48,580 | +385.8% | -29.3% | 80 months | 47 · Mixed |
| 1992 | $344 | $125,674 | +1156.7% | $52,763 | +427.6% | -25.5% | 67 months | 43 · Mixed |
| 1993 | $360 | $120,083 | +1100.8% | $51,938 | +419.4% | -28.8% | 79 months | 45 · Mixed |
| 1994 | $384 | $112,498 | +1025.0% | $49,903 | +399.0% | -33.3% | 86 months | 33 · Unfavorable |
| 1995 | $384 | $112,425 | +1024.3% | $51,272 | +412.7% | -33.4% | 86 months | 41 · Mixed |
| 1996 | $388 | $111,434 | +1014.3% | $52,299 | +423.0% | -33.9% | 82 months | 43 · Mixed |
| 1997 | $331 | $130,418 | +1204.2% | $62,638 | +526.4% | -22.7% | 59 months | 51 · Mixed |
| 1998 | $294 | $146,863 | +1368.6% | $71,644 | +616.4% | -12.9% | 23 months | 50 · Mixed |
| 1999 | $279 | $154,942 | +1449.4% | $77,244 | +672.4% | -6.7% | 13 months | 52 · Mixed |
| 2000 | $279 | $154,803 | +1448.0% | $79,750 | +697.5% | -6.8% | 8 months | 57 · Mixed |
| 2001 | $271 | $159,471 | +1494.7% | $84,503 | +745.0% | none | none | 66 · Favorable |
| 2002 | $310 | $139,323 | +1293.2% | $75,016 | +650.2% | none | none | 45 · Mixed |
| 2003 | $364 | $118,790 | +1087.9% | $65,429 | +554.3% | none | none | 57 · Mixed |
| 2004 | $409 | $105,556 | +955.6% | $59,687 | +496.9% | none | none | 48 · Mixed |
| 2005 | $445 | $97,093 | +870.9% | $56,767 | +467.7% | none | none | 67 · Favorable |
| 2006 | $604 | $71,457 | +614.6% | $43,116 | +331.2% | none | none | 44 · Mixed |
| 2007 | $697 | $61,995 | +520.0% | $38,497 | +285.0% | none | none | 50 · Mixed |
| 2008 | $872 | $49,544 | +395.4% | $31,912 | +219.1% | -1.5% | 1 months | 49 · Mixed |
| 2009 | $973 | $44,388 | +343.9% | $28,521 | +185.2% | none | none | 57 · Mixed |
| 2010 | $1,225 | $35,267 | +252.7% | $23,025 | +130.2% | -12.1% | 12 months | 52 · Mixed |
| 2011 | $1,569 | $27,524 | +175.2% | $18,540 | +85.4% | -31.4% | 82 months | 54 · Mixed |
| 2012 | $1,670 | $25,869 | +158.7% | $17,776 | +77.8% | -35.6% | 86 months | 60 · Favorable |
| 2013 | $1,412 | $30,595 | +206.0% | $21,324 | +113.2% | -23.8% | 66 months | 63 · Favorable |
| 2014 | $1,266 | $34,127 | +241.3% | $24,176 | +141.8% | -15.0% | 17 months | 60 · Favorable |
| 2015 | $1,161 | $37,209 | +272.1% | $26,387 | +163.9% | -5.4% | 1 months | 61 · Favorable |
| 2016 | $1,249 | $34,580 | +245.8% | $24,840 | +148.4% | -4.6% | 5 months | 56 · Mixed |
| 2017 | $1,258 | $34,346 | +243.5% | $25,198 | +152.0% | -4.7% | 6 months | 60 · Favorable |
| 2018 | $1,269 | $34,028 | +240.3% | $25,567 | +155.7% | none | none | 61 · Favorable |
| 2019 | $1,393 | $31,014 | +210.1% | $23,737 | +137.4% | none | none | 57 · Mixed |
| 2020 | $1,770 | $24,398 | +144.0% | $18,905 | +89.1% | -6.0% | 5 months | 52 · Mixed |
| 2021 | $1,800 | $24,000 | +140.0% | $19,454 | +94.5% | -7.5% | 6 months | 57 · Mixed |
| 2022 | $1,801 | $23,984 | +139.8% | $20,985 | +109.9% | none | none | 50 · Mixed |
| 2023 | $1,943 | $22,231 | +122.3% | $20,274 | +102.7% | none | none | 46 · Mixed |
| 2024 | $2,388 | $18,089 | +80.9% | $16,993 | +69.9% | none | none | 37 · Unfavorable |
| 2025 | $3,442 | $12,550 | +25.5% | $12,110 | +21.1% | none | none | 37 · Unfavorable |
Price paid is the average of the year's twelve monthly average prices, World Bank series, in US dollars an ounce. Worth now uses the September 2026 average of $4,319. After inflation divides each price by the US consumer price index for its month, so the two values compare buying power. Worst drop is the lowest monthly average after the year, against the price paid. Longest run below counts consecutive months under the price paid. Barometer that year is the average of the year's twelve monthly readings. The current year joins the table once it is complete. Where a month's index is not yet published, the last published one is used.
Why the two columns differ so much
$10,000 of gold bought across 1971 at $41 an ounce is worth $1,055,560 at the September 2026 price. That is +10455.6% in dollars. But those dollars buy far less than they did in 1971. Measured in buying power, the same purchase is worth $127,933, or +1179.3%.
The second figure is the one to compare across years. It answers the question a saver asks: does the metal buy more than the money would have. Across the 55 years, the middle answer after inflation is +285.7%, with 1971 at the top at +1179.3% and 2025 at the bottom at +21.1%.
The years that took longest to come back
19 purchase years spent five years or more in a row below the price paid, before inflation. The 1980 buyer waited 25 years and 3 months, and saw the price -57.9% below what was paid at the low. A gain on paper today says nothing about what those years felt like to hold.
- 1980: 303 months below $608, worst drop -57.9%
- 1981: 212 months below $460, worst drop -44.3%
- 1982: 81 months below $376, worst drop -31.9%
- 1983: 194 months below $423, worst drop -39.4%
- 1984: 80 months below $361, worst drop -29.0%
- 1986: 80 months below $368, worst drop -30.4%
- 1987: 206 months below $446, worst drop -42.7%
- 1988: 190 months below $437, worst drop -41.4%
- 1989: 85 months below $381, worst drop -32.9%
- 1990: 86 months below $384, worst drop -33.2%
- 1991: 80 months below $362, worst drop -29.3%
- 1992: 67 months below $344, worst drop -25.5%
- 1993: 79 months below $360, worst drop -28.8%
- 1994: 86 months below $384, worst drop -33.3%
- 1995: 86 months below $384, worst drop -33.4%
- 1996: 82 months below $388, worst drop -33.9%
- 2011: 82 months below $1,569, worst drop -31.4%
- 2012: 86 months below $1,670, worst drop -35.6%
- 2013: 66 months below $1,412, worst drop -23.8%
What a seller gave up or escaped by selling in months like today's is on should you sell your gold now. The price itself, year by year before and after inflation, is on the gold price history page. The same episodes, measured from the peak rather than the purchase, are on the page on recovery after each peak. What a buyer who stepped in after a 20% fall got is on gold price dropping: buy the dip or stay out.
What the barometer read in those years
The last column is the average of the year's twelve monthly readings, rebuilt with only the data known at the time. Across the 55 years it ran through the Mixed, Historically very unfavorable, Favorable, Unfavorable zones. 1971 read 58, Mixed. 2025 read 37, Unfavorable. The score measures buying conditions against the record. It is not a forecast, and this table does not test it.
The instrument behind these numbers
- Buying conditions today
- Unfavorable
- Months like this since 1971
- 153
- Purchase years in the table
- 55
Which of the seven conditions moved this month is on why is gold going up or down. Each condition has its own page.
Related questions
- Gold price history since 1971, before and after inflation
- Buy gold all at once or over twelve months?
- How long did gold take to recover after each peak?
Common questions
What if I had invested $10,000 in gold 20 years ago?
Bought across 2006 at an average of $604 an ounce, $10,000 is worth $71,457 at the September 2026 average, a change of +614.6%. In buying power, $43,116, or +331.2%. The worst drop on the way was 0.0%.
Why are the two values so far apart for the early years?
Because of inflation. $10,000 of 1971 gold is worth $1,055,560 in today's dollars, but $127,933 in dollars of equal buying power. The second figure is the one to compare across years.
Which year had the longest wait below the price paid?
1980. Gold bought across that year at $608 spent 303 months in a row, 25 years and 3 months, below that price before inflation. Its worst drop on the way was -57.9%.
Does the table include premiums, storage or taxes?
No. It compares monthly average prices only. A buyer paid a premium above that price and may pay to store the metal, so real results are lower than the table shows. Nothing here concerns retirement accounts.
Why the September 2026 price and not today's?
The price paid is a monthly average, so the value now is one too. Comparing a monthly average with a single day's price would mix two measures. The table is recomputed each month when the new average is known.
Today's reading, with the buyer's verdict and the evidence behind it, is on the home page. The whole record, month by month, is on what every score meant next since 1971. One email goes out the day the reading moves to a new zone, in either direction. The sign-up is just below.
One email per zone change
Get one email the day gold buying conditions enter a new zone. Up or down.
Since 1971 that has happened 94 times, about twice a year. The last time was March 2026.