SortStack #143 — 2026-10-30

By price · Order from cheapest to most expensive.

1. Manhattan Island, as the Dutch paid for it (in goods, at the famous valuation) $24

   The Dutch paid 60 guilders in trade goods in 1626 — a sum 19th-century historians famously converted to about $24. Manhattan real estate is now worth well over a trillion.

2. A full tank of gas for a midsize car in the US $45

   About half the pump price of US gasoline is the crude oil itself — refining, distribution, and taxes split the rest.

3. The average new car in the United States $48K

   The average new-car price has nearly doubled since 2010, driven by buyers abandoning sedans for loaded SUVs and trucks.

4. A Steinway Model D concert grand piano $200K

   Each Model D takes about a year to build and contains over 12,000 parts. Most major concert halls keep several, tuned before every performance.

5. 'Salvator Mundi,' the painting attributed to Leonardo da Vinci $450.3M

   The most expensive artwork ever sold was bought for about $1,000 at a 2005 estate sale. Since the 2017 auction, it has not been publicly seen.

6. The International Space Station $150B

   Often called the most expensive object ever built, the ISS has been continuously inhabited since the year 2000 and orbits Earth about sixteen times a day.

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