What was McDonald’s first menu item sold for 15 cents in the 1940s?

McDonald’s sold its original hamburger for 15 cents in the 1940s.

After Maurice and Richard McDonald reorganized their San Bernardino restaurant, the simplified menu centered on hamburgers, cheeseburgers, potato chips, drinks, coffee, and milkshakes. The low-priced hamburger became the core product around which the Speedee Service System was organized. Its simple preparation made it suitable for the brothers’ assembly-line approach.

The price belongs to the early McDonald brothers’ operation and should not be confused with later menu pricing. French fries replaced potato chips in 1949, and the chain’s menu expanded substantially as franchising grew. The hamburger’s role also differs from the Big Mac, which was introduced much later, in 1967, and became a separate signature product.