Silver Price in 1980
In 1980, the price of silver averaged $20.63 per troy ounce, up 86.0% from the year before. This page covers the 1980 average, high, low, and year-end close, the events that moved the market, and what that silver would be worth in today's dollars.
1980 Average
$20.63
LBMA annual average, USD/oz
Change vs 1979
+86.0%
from $11.09 in 1979
1980 High
$48.00
from daily trading data
1980 Low
$10.80
from daily trading data
Year-End Close
$15.65
last trading day of 1980
Silver Price Chart, 1970 to 1990
Silver Price by Month in 1980
Each month's average of daily closing prices, with its high and low, per troy ounce. These come from MetalCharts daily spot data, so they can differ slightly from the annual average above, which is based on LBMA annual average data.
| Month | Average | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1980 | $38.26 | $48.00 | $33.65 |
| February 1980 | $35.08 | $39.00 | $31.00 |
| March 1980 | $24.13 | $36.70 | $11.10 |
| April 1980 | $14.50 | $16.40 | $13.10 |
| May 1980 | $12.53 | $13.55 | $10.80 |
| June 1980 | $15.75 | $17.65 | $14.18 |
| July 1980 | $16.06 | $16.95 | $15.15 |
| August 1980 | $15.90 | $16.33 | $15.57 |
| September 1980 | $20.14 | $24.25 | $16.23 |
| October 1980 | $20.22 | $21.80 | $18.47 |
| November 1980 | $18.66 | $19.65 | $17.68 |
| December 1980 | $16.39 | $18.85 | $14.32 |
What happened to the silver price in 1980
Silver averaged $20.63 per troy ounce in 1980, surging 86.0% from the $11.09 average of 1979. Annual moves of that size are rare and put 1980 among the most explosive years in the metal's modern history. Daily trading data shows silver moved between a low of $10.80 and a high of $48.00 during the year, ending 1980 at $15.65. The defining story of 1980: Hunt Brothers peak; Silver Thursday crash.
The 1980s opened with the Hunt brothers squeeze driving silver to roughly $50 per ounce in January 1980, followed by the Silver Thursday collapse that March. The rest of the decade was a long unwind as inflation cooled and speculative interest drained away.
Adjusted for inflation, silver's 1980 average of $20.63 equals about $81 in today's dollars. The conversion uses US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U annual averages, so treat it as a close approximation rather than an exact figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the price of silver in 1980?
What is a 1980 silver price worth in today's dollars?
What moved the silver price in 1980?
Annual averages are LBMA prices per troy ounce in US dollars. Where shown, the yearly high, low, and close come from MetalCharts daily historical data and may differ slightly from figures published elsewhere. Inflation adjustments use BLS CPI-U annual averages.