"What Was the Interest Rate Then?" presents twelve interest rate series for the United Kingdom and the United States. The rates presented here are not those associated with common experiences such as obtaining a mortgage or receiving interest on a bank account, but rather they are the rates that set the tone for determining these ordinary rates.

There are two short-term and one long-term series presented for each country and they are reported from both a contemporary and consistent standpoint. The series are:

• United Kingdom
        Short-Term Interest Rates
            Ordinary Funds (1790-2009)
            Surplus Funds (1855-2009)
        Long-Term Interest Rate (1729-2009)
• United States
        Short-Term Interest Rates
            Ordinary Funds (1831-2009)
            Surplus Funds (1857-2009)
        Long-Term Interest Rate (1798-2009)

Prior to using the data presented in any of these series, we strongly recommend that you read the "Guide to What Was the Interest Rate Then?" This guide, only three pages in length, is oriented to the general reader but is also a useful summary of the interest-rate material for the scholar. The serious scholar or specialist should also read "What Was the Interest Rate Then? A Data Study." This 109-page monograph describes fully the generation and characteristics of the series in What Was the Interest Rate Then?, enables the scholar to interpret the series, and provides information permitting the scholar to alter the series as required for his or her own purposes.