John Wolff's Web Museum

Calculator Prices

This page shows a few references to the original prices of mechanical and early electronic calculators in Australia.

One pound (£1-0-0) became two dollars ($2.00) when Australia changed to decimal currency in February 1966.

One Australian dollar was equivalent to about US$1.10 from the 1950s until the 1980s. In recent years it has ranged from US$0.45 to US$0.90. It is currently about US$0.85.

Mechanical calculators	Price	Year	Reference
Contex half-keyboard adding machine	£23-10-0	1956	Original invoice.
Contex carry case	£2-15-0	1956	Annotated brochure.
Contex half-keyboard adding machine	£24-15-0	~1960	Price ticket on machine.
Contex 10-key, Model 10, manual	£42-0-0	1965	Annotated brochure.
Contex 10-key, Model 20, semi-automatic	£89-10-0	1963	Annotated brochure.
Contex 10-key, Model 30, semi-automatic	£98-10-0	1965	Annotated brochure.
Madas No 8, manual (cheapest Madas)	$222	~1966	Annotated brochure.
Madas 20BTZR, fully automatic (top of range)	$1188	~1966	Annotated brochure.
Marchant 8DCR, semi-automatic	£260-0-0	1958	Annotated brochure.
Electronic calculators
Canon Canola L121	$196	1972	Annotated brochure.
HP-35 scientific	$266	1973	Annotated brochure.
HP-45 outfit in hard case	$350	1974	Original invoice.
HP-25 programmable	$179	1975	Magazine review.
HP-71B pocket calculator/computer	$901	1985	Price ticket on original box.