How much did these back-to-school items cost in 1960?

Flip through this catalog and see if you can guess the prices!

 

With the end of summer comes a rush to get stocked up on everything you’ll need for the coming school year. That could mean everything from pencils and notebooks to the perfect new outfit for the first day of school.

It seems like students today need a lot more school supplies than kids used in 1960 – they cost a lot more too!

Here are ten items you might buy at your local store or order from the Sears catalog before the start of the 1960 school year. Can you guess the prices for each?

  1. The most expensive pair of these scissors cost…
  2. The cheapest one of these bags cost…
  3. Plaid skirts are so conventional, why not go for a plaid top and plaid pants? That outfit would set you back…
  4. Go back to school as a cowboy! This leather vest with “exciting western fringe” cost…
  5. This tape cost a whopping…
  6. The big box of Crayola crayons cost…
  7. The “Regular Edition” of Webster’s New International Dictionary (behind the Collegiate Dictionary) weighted 17 pounds and cost...
  8. Before calculators, this machine tallied things up “electrically” but this would be a bit big to take to school. Not to mention expensive! This adding machine cost…
  9. The most expensive version of these hip sneakers cost…

How much did these back-to-school items cost in 1960?

Your Result...

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200 Comments

KimThornadtsson 10 days ago
4/10 uh-oh. Well, I was in 2nd grade then, but I wasn't the one buying any of this stuff. Bet my mother (not with us anymore, bless her heart) could ace this one, though.
Coldnorth 14 days ago
I loved the smell of crayolas and still do
Moverfan 14 days ago
5/9. More than half (technically), but still, I should have done better! I was born in 1962 and I started school I. 1967....!

What was that?

Oh...never mind...
sputnik_57 15 days ago
4/10 I didn't start school until '63. Still can't believe that dictionary cost $39.50...books used to be rather cheap.
JERRY6 17 days ago
3 right , guess it depends where you shop
ww245 18 days ago
Well, I bombed that one! I got 5 of them correct. Wow... amazing to say the least!
BradBeall 19 days ago
7 out of 9. Not bad, as I wasn't born until 1961.
Gunsmoked 19 days ago
5 / 9 Some of those items seemed to cost more than i remember 🤔
nerakr 19 days ago
2/9. But then, that was before I was born.
mickeyd53 19 days ago
3/9-well I was only 5yrs old at that time. Love these quizzes and love reading the comments..It was a great time to be alive and a kid.
Brutus2 20 days ago
7/10 not bad since I was only 1 year old
Lillyrose 20 days ago
3 out of 9. I got the first question right, and then I missed most of the rest of the questions. I wasn't born until 1970.
boogerdogger 20 days ago
Ah Ha!
4 out of 9.
I was just a kid....didn't buy much back then!
MrsPhilHarris 20 days ago
4/9 I never do well on these guess the price quizzes.
theFAN2000 20 days ago
I only got 5 right. Not bad seeing as this was 11 years before I was born. Besides, that adding machine was NOT something for back-to-school. :p
Art1957 theFAN2000 19 days ago
Not to mention those really nice scissors! The scissors we had could barely cut paper!
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