Silver

Abstract

Few probably remember “Silver Thursday”, March 27th, 1980 when the collapse in the price of silver produced panic on the futures and commodity exchanges. In 1979–1980, the American oil billionaire brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt (1926–2014) and William Herbert Hunt (1929-) attempted to corner the silver market and it is estimated eventually held $10 billion worth of silver (195 million troy ounces). This amounted to one third of the World silver supply, and led to a price increase from January 1st, 1979 of $6.08 per troy ounce to $49.94 per troy ounce a little over a year later on January 18th, 1980. The Hunt brothers borrowed heavily to purchase the silver and when the New York Commodity Exchange, Inc. (COMEX) placed restrictions on purchasing on margin, they were caught in a classic margin call debacle. Within 2 months of its high point, the price of silver had dropped to less than $11 per troy ounce. The brothers, lost over $1 billion.