Historical USD Exchange Rate
EverydayFind out what $1 was worth in EUR, GBP, INR, JPY and more on any past date back to 1953, and compare it to today's exchange rate. Free, instant lookup.
🇺🇸This tool is specific to United States
What is a USD History?
A historical USD exchange rate shows what the US dollar was actually worth against another currency on a specific date in the past, rather than the live rate you'd get today. This Historical USD Exchange Rate tool pulls genuine recorded rates going back to 1953, letting you answer questions like "what was $1 worth in euros in 1990?" or "how many rupees did $100 buy in 2005?" with real historical data instead of estimates.
This is a different question from the one a spot-rate Currency Converter answers. A live converter tells you what your money is worth right now; this tool tells you what it was worth at a specific point in the past, and — just as importantly — how that compares to today. Over multi-decade periods, exchange rates can shift dramatically due to inflation differentials, interest rate policy, and broader economic shifts, so the same $100 that bought a certain amount of a foreign currency in 1990 may buy a very different amount today.
The comparison is especially useful for understanding long-run currency trends: has a particular currency strengthened or weakened against the dollar over the years, and by how much? This complements — but is distinct from — inflation tracking, which measures how prices have changed within a single country rather than between two currencies; the Inflation Calculator handles that separate question.
How to use this USD History calculator
- Enter the dollar amount you want to look up in the Amount (USD) field — it defaults to 100.
- Select the currency you want to compare against from the Compare Against dropdown — type to search if you don't see it immediately.
- Enter a specific date in the Date field, or click one of the quick-year buttons (1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020) to jump to January 1 of that year.
- Read the On [date] panel to see what your amount converted to using the historical rate for that date.
- Read the Today panel directly beside it to see what the same amount converts to right now.
- Check the Change since then summary for the percentage difference and a plain-language explanation of the shift.
- If the date you picked falls on a weekend or holiday, note the "(nearest trading day)" label showing which actual date's rate was used.
Formula & Methodology
The core conversion formula is identical to any currency calculation: Converted Amount = Input Amount × Exchange Rate The difference is which exchange rate is used. This tool applies the recorded rate for your chosen historical date, then repeats the same formula using today's live rate: Historical Amount = Input × Rate(USD → Currency, on Date D) Current Amount = Input × Rate(USD → Currency, today) Percentage Change = ((Current Rate − Historical Rate) ÷ Historical Rate) × 100 Worked example: Converting $100 to Indian Rupees, comparing January 1, 2000 to today. On 2000-01-01, the historical rate was approximately 1 USD = ₹43.55, so $100 converted to ₹4,355 at that time. If today's rate is 1 USD = ₹83.10, the same $100 converts to ₹8,310 today. The percentage change is ((83.10 − 43.55) ÷ 43.55) × 100 ≈ 90.8% — meaning the dollar buys roughly 91% more rupees today than it did on that date, reflecting the rupee's depreciation against the dollar over that period.
Frequently Asked Questions
A historical USD exchange rate is the value of the US dollar against another currency on a specific past date, rather than the current live rate. This tool looks up the actual mid-market rate published for that date, going back to 1953, so you can see exactly how many euros, pounds, or rupees a dollar bought at that point in time.
A standard currency converter answers 'what is this amount worth right now,' using the current live exchange rate. This tool instead answers 'what was this amount worth on a specific past date,' pulling the actual historical rate from that day and comparing it side by side with today's rate. If you just need today's rate, the [Currency Converter](/currency-converter/) is the faster tool for that.
The calculation is the same as any currency conversion — Converted Amount = Input Amount × Exchange Rate — except the exchange rate used is the one recorded for the specific date you select, not today's rate. The tool then repeats the same calculation using today's rate so you can compare the two side by side.
This tool supports any date back to January 1, 1953, covering more than seven decades of US dollar exchange history against major world currencies. If a selected date falls on a weekend or public holiday when markets were closed, the tool automatically uses the nearest trading day and shows you which date was actually used.
Enter 100 in the Amount field, select your target currency from the Compare Against dropdown, and either type a date directly or click one of the quick-year buttons (1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, or 2020) to jump straight to January 1 of that year. The result updates immediately, showing what $100 converted to on that date versus what it converts to today.
Exchange rates move constantly based on each country's interest rates, inflation, trade balances, and economic policy relative to the United States, and these effects compound significantly over a decade or more. A currency that has experienced high inflation, such as some Latin American or South Asian currencies, can lose a large share of its dollar value over 20–30 years, while stable currencies like the Swiss franc tend to move less dramatically.
No — this tool only tracks the nominal exchange rate between the US dollar and another currency on a given date, not domestic inflation within either country. To see how inflation alone has eroded the dollar's purchasing power over time, use the [Inflation Calculator](/inflation-calculator/), which is a distinct calculation from currency exchange.
Select EUR in the Compare Against field, set the date to January 1, 2000 (or click the 2000 quick-year button), and the tool displays the exact historical euro rate for that date next to today's live rate. The euro was a relatively new currency in 2000, having launched in 1999, so this comparison also captures its early volatility against the dollar.
Yes — select Indian Rupee (INR) from the Compare Against dropdown and pick any date back to 1953. The rupee has depreciated substantially against the dollar over most multi-decade periods, largely reflecting the inflation differential between India and the United States.
The percentage change shows how much more or less of the selected currency $1 buys today compared to the historical date chosen — a positive percentage means the dollar buys more of that currency now than it did then, and a negative percentage means it buys less. This reflects the combined effect of both currencies' economic performance over that period, not the US dollar's value in isolation.
Currency markets are closed on weekends and public holidays, so if you pick a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the tool automatically substitutes the nearest trading day with published rates and labels it 'nearest trading day' in the result. This ensures you always see a genuine recorded rate rather than an estimated or interpolated one.
The rates shown are genuine historical mid-market rates suitable for general research, estimation, and understanding currency trends, but formal tax or accounting reporting typically requires rates from a specific regulator-approved source (such as a central bank's official historical rate) for the exact reporting date required. Always confirm the required rate source with your accountant or tax authority before using this for compliance purposes.
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