Punch Cards and Dollar Bills
2 days ago
- #economics
- #technology
- #history
- Punch card dimensions were originally the same as US paper money (3.25″ by 7.375″) before 1929.
- US bank notes shrank in size in 1929 to 2.61″ by 6.14″ and also lost purchasing power over time.
- In 2025, $1 has only about 3% of the purchasing power it had in 1861.
- To maintain the same purchasing power per square inch, a $1 note in 2025 should be 0.55″ by 1.3″.
- Punch cards were first used for the 1890 US census, predating electronic computers.