yes, $.012 or 1.2 cents would be the proper way to write it.

a dollar from 1792-1932 was defined as 1/20 of an oz. of gold (not exactly, but basically)

when the dollar no longer became defined by a weight of metal, the price of the metal began diverge from the "dollar" 

so to compare apples to apples, a price of farmland that was priced as a weight of gold in the past to today in paper, comes the formula.  (apples vs oranges)

formula:
price of land divided by 3257 federal reserve notes (which is todays exchange rate of gold) tells how many oz of gold each acre is worth.  (ounces of gold per acre rather than paper rectangles per acre)  Then, since a dollar was defined as 1\20 of an oz until 1933, you divide by 20 to find out how land would compare to prices prior to 1933.

you need the formula because our ruler, or measuring stick is shrinking at the same time, and this reveals how much it has shrunk by.

one could argue that prices after 1914 are distorted because of the start of the federal reserve money printing. but i digress.

from 1933 to 1945 divide by 35 rather than 20
from 1945 to 1968 divide by 40 rather than 35
from 1968 to 1973 divide by black market price of gold
from 1973 to present  day divide by market price of gold at any given year