As silver prices surge toward record territory, the debate over the metal’s true all-time high has resurfaced. Unlike gold, silver’s benchmark record is complicated by multiple exchanges, differing methodologies, and incomplete historical data dating back to the Hunt Brothers’ infamous 1980 corner attempt.

Silver’s True Record High Remains a Mystery Rooted in the Hunt Brothers Era

According to a report, the last time silver entered such rarefied air was January 1980, when the Hunt Brothers’ aggressive accumulation triggered a short-term squeeze that sent prices into the stratosphere before regulators intervened. The precise figure for that peak depends on where one looks. In London, the world’s primary benchmark market, the daily auction price reached $49.45 an ounce on Jan. 18, 1980—the official reference point most analysts cite today.

Silver on Pace for Highest Weekly Close in History...

Bloomberg noted that intraday London data from that period are missing, a gap confirmed by the London Bullion Market Association, whose spokesperson said the association “didn’t have the data either.” Subsequent intraday records, available only from 1993 onward, show a more recent high of $49.8044 on April 25, 2011, when silver briefly surged during the post-financial-crisis commodity boom.
On New York’s Comex, the historic 1980 top was also logged on Jan. 18, at $50.35 according to CME Group, which now owns the exchange. Contemporaneous reports in the New York Times and a 1982 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report place the same high at $50.36, illustrating how even primary sources diverge on the decimal point. Meanwhile, on the now-defunct Chicago Board of Trade, silver futures traded as high as $52.50 on Jan. 21, 1980, the loftiest number recorded across any venue.

“On Jan. 21, 1980, silver hit a record $50.35.” (This is the Comex ATH)

“On Jan. 21, 1980, silver reached a peak of $52.50 a troy ounce in trading on the Comex.”
— The New York Times (this price was on the CBOT)

The discrepancy highlights why silver remains one of the few (or only perhaps, lol) commodities whose 1970s-1980s era highs have never been decisively eclipsed. Analysts say the confusion reflects not only market fragmentation but also the unique legacy of regulatory intervention during the Hunt episode. As one veteran metals trader told Bloomberg, “Silver’s record depends on which clock you were watching when it broke.” 

Today, with silver again pressing toward those historical levels, the question is as symbolic as it is statistical—how markets remember their extremes can shape how they price the next one.

When Will Silver Break its Three Peaks? https://t.co/zokl5rJsMA

— VBL’s Ghost (@Sorenthek) October 7, 2025