Footnote: Figuring out the value of a dollar from 1900 isn’t as easy as it seems. Different calculations are made depending what the dollar is describing. For example, a 1900 dollar used to describe a commodity would only have a value of $28 in 2013. The same dollar used in the context of a project is much higher at $782 because it represents economic power connected to its ability to control production and influence the world economy. Because the invention of manned flight was such a world-changing invention, it is logical to put the value on the high end of the scale when estimating relative value.