The Girl Scout cookies available in Richmond in 1958

What's happening: The historical cookie sale records are courtesy of VCU Libraries' special collections department, which recently made the archives of the Girl Scouts Commonwealth Council of Virginia available to researchers.

By the numbers: In 1958, a package of Thin Mints was selling for 40 cents in the Richmond area, which works out to about $4.13 in today's dollars.

• That makes this year's price of $4 look a little better, especially considering a box then only had 24 cookies, compared to 36 today.

What they're saying: VCU's collection shows buyers have long been price conscious when it comes to Girl Scout cookies.

• A 1970 advice column clipped from the Hopewell News includes a reader bemoaning the "youth organization selling candy, cookies, etc. at grossly inflated prices."
• The columnist was unsympathetic: "No one promises you a bargain when you buy sweets from youth organizations," she wrote. "The out is, 'Sorry, we're on diets.'"