cockroach wrote:On another forum I use, someone posted a copy of a c.1960 Fender price list - the top model Strat was blonde, with gold plated hardware and vibrato arm- custom colours (e.g. Fiesta Red etc) were 5% extra- total price in the USA back then for Hanks' first Strat ordered by Cliff was therefore about US $380...not sure what the Sterling equivalent and import and mail costs etc were back then, however...
In 1960, the dollar pound exchange rate was 2.4:1, so $380 would have been worth about £158. Shipping would have been less than £10, surely? That was a week's net wages for a lot of people in the UK in those days.
The bog-standard Stratocaster with nickel and chrome parts as well as the all-important tremolo bridge sold for $289.50 retail in 1960. That is the equivalent of £120. Then there was shipping and Purchase Tax to add at our end. Really, a UK retail price of 150 guineas (£157.50) was reasonable in those circumstances (more for custom colour of course).