Frequently Asked Questions: Business

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York provides Daily 10 a.m. midpoint and noon foreign exchange rates External from the New York interbank market. Additional information on current and historic daily exchange rates and related resources, including analyses and trend projections of the Canadian Dollar, the U.S. Dollar, and the Euro are available from PACIFIC External (Policy Analysis Computing and Information Facility in Commerce). Several online calculators are available, including the Currency Converter External from Oanda.com.

The Federal Reserve Bank has exchange rate data. Weekly data (Release H.10) for the last five years, as well as historical data beginning with the 1970's or 1980's, depending on the country, is also available. They also produce monthly data (G. 5) that is also historical beginning in 1989 depending on the country. You can view older release at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ FRASER project at:

• H.10 External (1980’s-1990’s, weekly)
• G.5 External (1960’s – 1996, monthly)

The Federal Reserve via GPO also has the publication Treasury Reporting Rates of Exchange for 1956-2005.

Also, local public library systems and university libraries may have resources. First, the Wall Street Journal printed exchange rates in the Money & Investing section. Look for access to microfiche format or through Proquest Historical Newspapers. Print books and periodicals may also be available for anyone looking for rates from the early 20^th century and earlier. These are just a few of the titles:

British Historical Statistics by B.R. Mitchell.
Along with other economic and social statistical data, this title includes British foreign exchange rates for the period 1609-1980 on pages 700-703.

Currency Conversion Tables: a Hundred Years of Change by R. L. Bidwell.
Contains tables showing the value of major world currencies by year between 1914 and 1969 in relation to the U.S. dollar and the British pound.

International Financial Statistics Yearbook. International Monetary Fund. 1979 - present. Annual.
Includes exchange rates for national currencies from 1972 to the present per SDR (the unit of account for the International Monetary Fund, set in relation to the US dollar).

Money and Exchange in Europe and America, 1600-1775 : a handbook by John J. McCusker.
Covers exchange rates for the major European countries during the period as well as rates for the British and other New World colonies. Tables show rates by year and month as available.

World Currency Yearbook. c1985 - present. Annual.
Begun in 1955 as Pick's Currency Yearbook, the volume contains extensive information on the major world currencies, including official exchange rates per U.S. dollar for the latest 4 years available at time of publication.

Handbook of World Exchange Rates, 1590-1914 by Markus A. Denzel

Some information can also be found at Measuring Worth a service from the MeasuringWorth Foundation and has been supported over the years by members of the Economic History Association, Economic History Society, and International Economic History Association.

• Exchange Rates Between the United States Dollar and Forty-one Currencies: start date for coverage varies but the earliest year available is 1913.
• Dollar-Pound Exchange Rate From 1791

For additional information, please Ask a Librarian.