Scott prices from 1930-ish – does anyone know them?

[Anonymous]

Does any have or know the sales prices of new Scott’s and options (Squirrel, flyer, TT, Sprint special etc) from around 1930? I’m just putting together a small history/display board for the summer shows and would like to add such info.

Thanks in advance,
Richard

[Deleted User]

@Richard Blackburn wrote:

Does any have or know the sales prices of new Scott’s and options (Squirrel, flyer, TT, Sprint special etc) from around 1930? I’m just putting together a small history/display board for the summer shows and would like to add such info.

Thanks in advance,
Richard

According to the Jeff Clew book:

1930/31

66 GBP for the 498, 68 GBP for the 596 or 76 GBP with a Power Plus engine
Sprint Special 85 GBP
Lightweight 38 GBP with and 35 GBP without lighting. 350 cc at extra 2 GBP

Cannot find a price for the TT though in the book for ’30/’31.

But I am sure the Librarian can tell you a lot more.

Cheers,
Erik

[dave bushell]

I’ll have a look.
Dave

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone. Perhaps I should have thought of looking in my Jeff Clew book, its been a while since I read it and I forgot it had prices in it. £85 for a Sprint special, that is about £3000 in today’s money. If only….

Cheers,
Rich

[dave bushell]

From an advert in THE MOTOR CYCLE dated 5/9/29 the Scott programme for 1930 gives the following prices.

300cc Squirrel (air cooled single)………….£39
498cc Super Squirrel, open frame…………£55
498cc Sports Squirrel, top tube tank…….£55
498cc Flying Squirrel…………………………..£66
498cc Flying Squirrel De Luxe………………£73
498cc TT Replica, power plus……………….£84
498cc Speedway Special, power plus……£95
596cc engines ………………………………….£2 extra, where applicable.

Dave

[Deleted User]

Sorry Richard, but £3,000 is a trifle optimistic, the general rule of thumb is that the value of “the pound in you pocket” halves in its purchasing power every 10 years so a Sprint Special would set you back around £18,600 today.

Don’t believe me? OK then, answer this:- In what year could you buy petrol for 3/6d a gallon? — Yeh! I’m getting old too!!!

[chris wastell]

Are petrol prices an acurate indicator due to the changing (increasing government imposed taxes etc.?) plus the reduction in real cost since the golden age? I don’t claim to know these things but comparative costs of living compared to earnings are something I find quite fascinating.

[Anonymous]

Good stuff, just what i needed. The figure of 3 grand come from me plugging a 1930 date and £85 into the converter here:

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency/default0.asp#mid

In truth I have no idea of true values of old money, I was born 3 years after the decimal coinage came in!

Cheers,
Rich

[Deleted User]

One reliable bench mark item is said to be the humble Mars bar, mark you if you were to time-warp a kid from the ‘50’s in and give him one of today’s miserable, undersized, air-filled offerings it’s likely you’d get your shins kicked for your trouble!

On petrol prices, despite recent price hikes, “they” reckon it to be less expensive now than pre-war in terms of the time it takes the average man to earn the price of a gallon.

If you want a really ‘orrible comparison of how prices have escalated then how about a new substantial four-bedroom house in Pinner for £850? — Mark you that was in 1933 . . .

[Deleted User]

10 scotts for the price of a detached house what does that make them £25 grand. i do know scotts were about double the price of other bikes in the early thirties

[Wilfried]

Hello,

I looked at this a while ago and it is much more difficult to compare the worth of an old bike with the prices today.

One should compare the average income and the costs of live and the costs of work and…

For example the cost of one KWH electrical energy was equal to the salary for an hour of a craftsmen in Germany in 1929. Today it is a fracture of this.

This may help:

https://measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/result.php?use%5B%5D=CPI&use%5B%5D=DEFIND&use%5B%5D=WAGE&use%5B%5D=GDPCP&use%5B%5D=GDPC&year_early=1914&pound71=68&shilling71=5&pence71=&amount=68.25&year_source=1914&year_result=2006#

Kind regards

Wilfried

[Deleted User]

I have a copy of the brochure on the 1927 Flying Squirrel – prices are – 498cc model 89 Guineas, 596cc 92 Guineas. This doesn’t appear to include any electrical equipment lights etc. which presumably were extas.

[Author]

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