Read the Sun for just 1¢

A principled price for our journalism

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Normally it's my job as Editor to stay out of our marketing messages. Yet I was so delighted at the latest idea from our publisher, Dovid Efune — a penny a day introductory subscription price — that I thought I might put in my own two cents. Dovid, it turns out, loves the history of the Sun. He instantly saw the significance of its original price of a penny a day. At the time, 1833, newspapers were for rich people. A penny a day was one way to redeem what became our motto, "It Shines for All." Join for 1¢ → Eventually, though, inflation struck. And by 1864, the Sun could stand it no longer. So with the cost of paper soaring, it announced it was doubling the price to two cents a copy. You can see the notice in the illustration. The part I love about it is the caveat. The New York Sun would start charging two cents a copy for those paying "in currency." Yet it would maintain its price of one cent for those prepared to pay for their copy of the Sun in gold. Today, our one-cent-a-day is an introductory price, lasting for 60 days. Then it goes to our regular price of $12 a month. But wait — what would that be in gold? In 1864, it would have been a bit over 7 grains of gold a month. Today, the price of the Sun in gold is a tad more than 3 grains of gold a month. So, there it is. Our publisher has managed to get the gold price of the Sun down to less than half of what it was in the 19th century. Which is why we keep saying, "It Shines for All." Yours faithfully, Seth Lipsky Editor of the Sun The New York Sun Company, LLC, 300 Park Ave, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10022, United States Too many emails? Manage your email preferences or unsubscribe. Done with the Sun for good?