Talk:Series E bond

What is its worth today?
I was wondering how much an E bond would be worth from back in the day, say WWII? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 17 February 2008 (talk • contribs) 20:44


 * Whatever its value at maturity was, less losses due to inflation of the currency since the date of maturity. I don't have the numbers, but I'm almost certain that in terms of purchasing power, the bonds are worth much less today than the day they were sold, inflation having gobbled up all of the interest, and then some. &mdash;QuicksilverT @ 16:08, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

What was it worth then?
This article needs information on what the value of the Series E bonds were worth at the time they were sold, plus their maturation period and yield, in order to put it into historical context. Local governments are selling municipal bonds even now, but they typically go in increments of $5,000, putting them out of reach of the great majority of the population. I seem to recall that War Bonds were sold in very small denominations, so that the average laborer with meager savings was able to participate. What were those denominations? &mdash;QuicksilverT @ 16:08, 13 October 2008 (UTC)

==I remember paying $ 18.25 or thereabouts for a $ 25.00 bond; the exact year escapes me.
 * Savings bonds were always sold at a discount, and had two maturity dates: the first, when the bonds redemption value equaled the face value of the bond, and the second when the bond ceased to earn interest. They were sold in varying denominations, but all but the lowest bonds in face value cost more than many people earned in a week during World War II.  However, because of the very low unemployment during the war period, combined with the phase-out of production for consumer goods, price controls, and wartime rationing, there was a significant amount of excess savings in the economy as a whole; consumers could afford to buy bonds and stamps when the alternative was buying nothing at all.  To this day, EE bonds are still sold at a discount.  (I bonds are different.)  This was a period when most Americans did not have the sort of access to financial services, like stock brokerage, that they do today, but they did have access to a bank, and by Treasury regulation the banks were not permitted to charge a commission on the sale.  121a0012 (talk) 03:34, 28 November 2011 (UTC)