If you had a $5.00 face value Half Eagle and a $2.50 face Quarter Eagle from 1799, you'd be looking at about $1,500 in today's gold value (modern coin equivalent, not junk gold; the coins themselves of course would be priceless today.) Now of course that wouldn't pay that bar tab if you tried to run it up today, but consider that there were no excise taxes on alcohol (which in the US can run almost $1/bottle of wine, or $7.25/fifth of liquor,) and many of the items on that tab were locally produced rather than shipped transatlantic. Frankly I suspect the bar tab was closer to just the $2.50 Quarter Eagle, if that, based on what else that amount of gold could buy at the time.
Also apparently 1799 Gold Eagles are not priceless. There are a few available for sale, but the asking price is at least $250,000. So priceless, but only for the plebians.
BMN003 1 points 1 month ago
If you had a $5.00 face value Half Eagle and a $2.50 face Quarter Eagle from 1799, you'd be looking at about $1,500 in today's gold value (modern coin equivalent, not junk gold; the coins themselves of course would be priceless today.) Now of course that wouldn't pay that bar tab if you tried to run it up today, but consider that there were no excise taxes on alcohol (which in the US can run almost $1/bottle of wine, or $7.25/fifth of liquor,) and many of the items on that tab were locally produced rather than shipped transatlantic. Frankly I suspect the bar tab was closer to just the $2.50 Quarter Eagle, if that, based on what else that amount of gold could buy at the time.
Also apparently 1799 Gold Eagles are not priceless. There are a few available for sale, but the asking price is at least $250,000. So priceless, but only for the plebians.