Cost of Some Items in Colonial Virginia
By Robert L. Mears
In colonial times, there were two mediums of exchange. Both were accepted by the general populace.
One was the English system of money. That was - the English pound sterling, twenty shillings per pound and twelve pence per shilling. It was the legal medium of exchange.
There was also the one which had one pound in weight of tobacco for each penny of English money. That was the one which was accepted by custom. All commercial transactions came to be recognized as being acceptable if the payoff was made in tobacco. Even the courts and the legal system accepted tobacco as a good medium of exchange.
The colonists did not have a ready source of hard currency but they could grow as much tobacco as their land and lifestyles would permit. Land not tied up in other uses such as gardens, pastures, orchards or buildings was planted in tobacco which could be grown year after year on the same land. And land was plentiful.
Some of the below listed items have their customary price given while other prices were controlled by law. The Virginia governing bodies met periodically and fixed the costs of some items, generally the costs of alcholic beverages and related products.
The information given here can be found in records of the courts of Accomack County, Virginia as abstracted by J. R. McKey in some of her books published by Heritage Books, Inc. See Accomack County Virginia Court Order Abstracts Vol 1 through 14.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| One way trip across the Atlantic |
750 pounds of tobacco |
| A day's labor | 20-30 pounds of tobacco |
| A pair of shoes | 50 pounds of tobacco |
| A pair of stockings | 50 pounds of tobacco |
| A pair of boots | 60 pounds of tobacco |
| A bushel of beans | 40 pounds of tobacco |
| A bushel of corn | 125 pounds of tobacco |
| An ell (45 inches) of cloth | 6 pounds of tobacco |
| A pound of sugar | 8 pounds of tobacco |
| A table | 600 pounds of tobacco |
| Digging a well | 100 pounds of tobacco |
| A cow | 500 pounds of tobacco |
| A horse | 1500 pounds of tobacco |
| A day's rental of a sloop | 50 pounds of tobacco |
| A night's lodging for one person | 4 pence |
| A meal for one person | 7 pence |
| A night's lodging and fodder for one horse | 11 pence |
| A gallon of Virginia cider | 1 shilling |
| A gallon of London beer | 5 shillings |
| A gallon of Virginia brandy | 8 shillings |
| A gallon of French brandy | 16 shillings |
| A coffin | 200 pounds of tobacco |
| A funeral | 508 - 1180 pounds of tobacco |
| A sermon at a funeral | 300 - 450 pounds of tobacco |
| A day of standby or service as a witness in court | 40 pounds of tobacco |
| A cart | 500 pounds of tobacco |
| A pair of cartwheels | 400 pounds of tobacco |