SILVER HISTORY
How the Hunt Brothers Affected Silver Prices in the 1970s–1980
The Hunt Brothers (mainly Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt, sons of Texas oil billionaire H.L. Hunt) attempted to corner the silver market in the late 1970s. Their actions caused one of the most dramatic price spikes and crashes in commodity history.
What They Did
Starting in the mid-to-late 1970s, they began aggressively buying both physical silver and silver futures contracts.
By late 1979 / early 1980, they (along with some Saudi partners through entities like International Metals Investment Company) controlled an estimated 100–200 million ounces of silver — roughly one-third (or more) of the world’s privately held, non-government silver supply.
Unlike most futures traders, they often took physical delivery of the metal instead of cash-settling contracts, which tightened available supply on the market.
Impact on the Silver Price
Period,Approximate Silver Price,Change
Early 1979,~$6 per ounce,—
Late 1979,$20–$35 per ounce,Strong rise
"January 18, 1980",Peak ~$49.45 – $50.35,+700%+ in about a year
"March 27, 1980 (Silver Thursday)",Dropped to ~$10.80,Crash of ~50% in one day
(Silver Thursday)Dropped to ~$10.80Crash of ~50% in one day
The rapid accumulation created a massive short squeeze and drove prices up more than 700% in roughly 12–18 months.
High prices caused secondary effects: people melted jewelry and silverware, industrial users struggled, and the gold/silver ratio temporarily collapsed to around 17:1.
The Collapse – “Silver Thursday” (March 27, 1980)
Regulators and exchanges responded:
COMEX introduced Silver Rule 7 (January 1980), which severely restricted new long positions and increased margin requirements.
“Liquidation-only” trading was imposed.
As prices started falling, the highly leveraged Hunt positions faced huge margin calls.
On March 27, 1980, the brothers failed to meet a major margin call (~$100 million). Silver crashed from the low $20s to about $10.80 in a single day.
Aftermath
The Hunt Brothers lost an estimated $1.5–1.7 billion (a massive fortune at the time).
They were later found liable for market manipulation, faced large fines, and were banned from commodities trading.
Both brothers eventually filed for bankruptcy.
The episode led to lasting changes in commodity market rules (higher margins, position limits, and tighter regulation of large speculative positions).
In short: The Hunt Brothers’ aggressive buying and physical accumulation helped drive silver from around $6 to nearly $50 in a very short time. When exchanges and regulators changed the rules and their leveraged positions faced margin calls, the market collapsed spectacularly on Silver Thursday in March 1980
Silver (XAGUSD) Monthly Chart Analysis – Shavyfxhub Strategy
Long-Term Structure Overview
This is a multi-decade monthly chart showing Silver’s major structural journey from the early 1970s.
Key Observations:
Major Historical High: The 1980 peak (Hunt Brothers era) around the mid-$40s to $50 area remains a critical reference.
Long-term Ascending Trendlines: Multiple rising support lines (black and red) have guided higher lows for decades.
Major Demand Zones:
Deep historical demand near $4.21 and lower.
Stronger structural demand around the mid-teens to $20s that acted as a base before the recent multi-year rally.
Current Structure:
Price has broken above previous major highs and is trading in a strong bullish expansion.
Clear Supply Roof / Resistance zones marked around $57.63 and higher projected levels.
Upper channel resistance and long-term red trendlines point toward much higher targets (projected arrows show potential moves toward $90–$120+ over the long term).
Current Bias (Shavyfxhub Style):
The overall monthly structure remains strongly bullish.
As long as price holds above the major rising trendlines and key demand zones (especially the $28–$30 area and the ascending supports), the path of least resistance is higher.
The chart shows potential for continued expansion after consolidations, consistent with long-term commodity bull market behavior.
How the Hunt Brothers Affected Silver Prices in the 1970s–1980
The Hunt Brothers (mainly Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt, sons of Texas oil billionaire H.L. Hunt) attempted to corner the silver market in the late 1970s. Their actions caused one of the most dramatic price spikes and crashes in commodity history.
What They Did
Starting in the mid-to-late 1970s, they began aggressively buying both physical silver and silver futures contracts.
By late 1979 / early 1980, they (along with some Saudi partners through entities like International Metals Investment Company) controlled an estimated 100–200 million ounces of silver — roughly one-third (or more) of the world’s privately held, non-government silver supply.
Unlike most futures traders, they often took physical delivery of the metal instead of cash-settling contracts, which tightened available supply on the market.
Impact on the Silver Price
Period,Approximate Silver Price,Change
Early 1979,~$6 per ounce,—
Late 1979,$20–$35 per ounce,Strong rise
"January 18, 1980",Peak ~$49.45 – $50.35,+700%+ in about a year
"March 27, 1980 (Silver Thursday)",Dropped to ~$10.80,Crash of ~50% in one day
(Silver Thursday)Dropped to ~$10.80Crash of ~50% in one day
The rapid accumulation created a massive short squeeze and drove prices up more than 700% in roughly 12–18 months.
High prices caused secondary effects: people melted jewelry and silverware, industrial users struggled, and the gold/silver ratio temporarily collapsed to around 17:1.
The Collapse – “Silver Thursday” (March 27, 1980)
Regulators and exchanges responded:
COMEX introduced Silver Rule 7 (January 1980), which severely restricted new long positions and increased margin requirements.
“Liquidation-only” trading was imposed.
As prices started falling, the highly leveraged Hunt positions faced huge margin calls.
On March 27, 1980, the brothers failed to meet a major margin call (~$100 million). Silver crashed from the low $20s to about $10.80 in a single day.
Aftermath
The Hunt Brothers lost an estimated $1.5–1.7 billion (a massive fortune at the time).
They were later found liable for market manipulation, faced large fines, and were banned from commodities trading.
Both brothers eventually filed for bankruptcy.
The episode led to lasting changes in commodity market rules (higher margins, position limits, and tighter regulation of large speculative positions).
In short: The Hunt Brothers’ aggressive buying and physical accumulation helped drive silver from around $6 to nearly $50 in a very short time. When exchanges and regulators changed the rules and their leveraged positions faced margin calls, the market collapsed spectacularly on Silver Thursday in March 1980
Silver (XAGUSD) Monthly Chart Analysis – Shavyfxhub Strategy
Long-Term Structure Overview
This is a multi-decade monthly chart showing Silver’s major structural journey from the early 1970s.
Key Observations:
Major Historical High: The 1980 peak (Hunt Brothers era) around the mid-$40s to $50 area remains a critical reference.
Long-term Ascending Trendlines: Multiple rising support lines (black and red) have guided higher lows for decades.
Major Demand Zones:
Deep historical demand near $4.21 and lower.
Stronger structural demand around the mid-teens to $20s that acted as a base before the recent multi-year rally.
Current Structure:
Price has broken above previous major highs and is trading in a strong bullish expansion.
Clear Supply Roof / Resistance zones marked around $57.63 and higher projected levels.
Upper channel resistance and long-term red trendlines point toward much higher targets (projected arrows show potential moves toward $90–$120+ over the long term).
Current Bias (Shavyfxhub Style):
The overall monthly structure remains strongly bullish.
As long as price holds above the major rising trendlines and key demand zones (especially the $28–$30 area and the ascending supports), the path of least resistance is higher.
The chart shows potential for continued expansion after consolidations, consistent with long-term commodity bull market behavior.
Pernyataan Penyangkalan
Informasi dan publikasi ini tidak dimaksudkan, dan bukan merupakan, saran atau rekomendasi keuangan, investasi, trading, atau jenis lainnya yang diberikan atau didukung oleh TradingView. Baca selengkapnya di Ketentuan Penggunaan.
Pernyataan Penyangkalan
Informasi dan publikasi ini tidak dimaksudkan, dan bukan merupakan, saran atau rekomendasi keuangan, investasi, trading, atau jenis lainnya yang diberikan atau didukung oleh TradingView. Baca selengkapnya di Ketentuan Penggunaan.