Silver Price in 1981
In 1981, the price of silver averaged $10.52 per troy ounce, down 49.0% from the year before. This page covers the 1981 average, high, low, and year-end close, and what that silver would be worth in today's dollars.
1981 Average
$10.52
LBMA annual average, USD/oz
Change vs 1980
-49.0%
from $20.63 in 1980
1981 High
$16.45
from daily trading data
1981 Low
$7.95
from daily trading data
Year-End Close
$8.25
last trading day of 1981
Silver Price Chart, 1971 to 1991
Silver Price by Month in 1981
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 1981 | $14.84 | $16.45 | $12.72 |
| February 1981 | $13.02 | $14.05 | $12.37 |
| March 1981 | $12.34 | $13.25 | $11.52 |
| April 1981 | $11.44 | $12.27 | $10.90 |
| May 1981 | $10.85 | $11.34 | $10.31 |
| June 1981 | $10.00 | $10.86 | $8.57 |
| July 1981 | $8.63 | $9.10 | $8.29 |
| August 1981 | $8.93 | $9.64 | $8.30 |
| September 1981 | $10.08 | $11.65 | $8.75 |
| October 1981 | $9.27 | $9.63 | $8.96 |
| November 1981 | $8.53 | $9.25 | $8.03 |
| December 1981 | $8.43 | $8.92 | $7.95 |
What happened to the silver price in 1981
Silver averaged $10.52 per troy ounce in 1981, collapsing 49.0% from the $20.63 average of 1980. Daily trading data shows silver moved between a low of $7.95 and a high of $16.45 during the year, ending 1981 at $8.25.
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 1981 average of $10.52 equals about $37 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 1981?
What is a 1981 silver price worth in today's dollars?
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.