I think something went wrong there. Using 33 for the dollar inflation from 1912 to 2026, and 200 volumes, we get $20,000 (1912) for the lot, or $660,000 now. A very respectable sum.
However, reality is a bit more complicated, and this probably would never have happened.
In any case, they did sell a larger set of books for $10,000, so $330,000 (modern), to a relatively safe customer. Evidently, they considered that worthwhile.
Many, if not most of these books would have been quite uninteresting for private buyers, which were Voynich's clientele. As a collection, they were of interest to a library like the Vatican.
Some of the earliest volumes he got, and for which I am pretty sure that he paid considerably more than $100, were rare collectors' items of exceptional value. The two manuscripts originating from the famous library of Matthias Corvinus, beautifully illuminated humanist manuscripts, with the arms and portrait of the King himself, were sold immediately, and gave Voynich $60,000 (1912). This is several times what he (supposedly) offered for the entire collection, and allowed him to change his lifestyle from one day to the next, moving into a luxury hotel. He was offering two other books for $150,000 each (1912), but these sales did not work out immediately. Yet he could wait. One gave him $75,000 (1916), the other was sold in 1924 for an as yet unknown amount.
The Voynich MS and the Valturius were on offer until much later for 100,000 IIRC, but were never sold.
I guess that his 500 Lire ($100) offer would have applied to the less spectacular but still interesting manuscripts. A Vergilius MS was sold in 1921 for $1500, so that is still a factor 15, or 7.5 taking into account inflation.
None of the above relies on Voynich's word. This is all from independent sources.
However, reality is a bit more complicated, and this probably would never have happened.
In any case, they did sell a larger set of books for $10,000, so $330,000 (modern), to a relatively safe customer. Evidently, they considered that worthwhile.
Many, if not most of these books would have been quite uninteresting for private buyers, which were Voynich's clientele. As a collection, they were of interest to a library like the Vatican.
Some of the earliest volumes he got, and for which I am pretty sure that he paid considerably more than $100, were rare collectors' items of exceptional value. The two manuscripts originating from the famous library of Matthias Corvinus, beautifully illuminated humanist manuscripts, with the arms and portrait of the King himself, were sold immediately, and gave Voynich $60,000 (1912). This is several times what he (supposedly) offered for the entire collection, and allowed him to change his lifestyle from one day to the next, moving into a luxury hotel. He was offering two other books for $150,000 each (1912), but these sales did not work out immediately. Yet he could wait. One gave him $75,000 (1916), the other was sold in 1924 for an as yet unknown amount.
The Voynich MS and the Valturius were on offer until much later for 100,000 IIRC, but were never sold.
I guess that his 500 Lire ($100) offer would have applied to the less spectacular but still interesting manuscripts. A Vergilius MS was sold in 1921 for $1500, so that is still a factor 15, or 7.5 taking into account inflation.
None of the above relies on Voynich's word. This is all from independent sources.