MEASURED · 5 OCTOBER 2026
Silver price history: every year, every record and every crash since 1960
Silver cost 90 cents an ounce in 1960. It reached $49.45 in January 1980, $48.70 in April 2011 and $118.45 in January 2026, and after each of those peaks it lost more than half its value. Here is the whole record: the price every year, every crash and how long the climb back took.
The short version
All-time high
$118.45
29 January 2026
Latest London price
$60.87
29 September 2026, 48.6% below the record
The 1980 peak in August 2026 dollars
$213
never matched after inflation
Falls of 50% or more since 1968
8
one still under way
Silver price history chart
Solid line: the monthly average price in dollars of the day (World Bank). Dashed: the same in August 2026 dollars (BLS consumer price index). Log scale, so equal heights are equal percentage moves.
Silver’s records
1980: $49.45 on 18 January 1980. Silver did not close above it again until 9 October 2025. 2011: $48.70 on 28 April 2011, passed on 8 October 2025. 2026: $118.45 on 29 January 2026, the all-time high in dollars of the day. Eight months later, on 29 September 2026, the price was $60.87.
After inflation the order changes. In August 2026 dollars the 1980 peak is about $213, the 2011 peak about $73 and the 2026 record about $122, the highest real price since 1980 and still well short of it.
Every silver crash since 1968
A crash here starts when the London price is 50% or more below a peak and ends at the lowest price before a 50% rally, the same rule as our gold price history at twice the size, because silver moves about twice as much as gold.
| PEAK | LOW | FALL | MONTHS TO LOW | BACK ABOVE THE PEAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.5812 June 1968 | $1.272 November 1971 | −50.6% | 40.7 | 1 June 19735 years after the peak |
| $49.4518 January 1980 | $10.8922 May 1980 | −78.0% | 4.1 | 9 October 202545.7 years after the peak |
| $23.5424 September 1980 | $4.9021 June 1982 | −79.2% | 20.9 | 14 October 201030.1 years after the peak |
| $14.6715 February 1983 | $4.8520 May 1986 | −66.9% | 39.1 | 12 May 200623.2 years after the peak |
| $10.9327 April 1987 | $3.5525 February 1991 | −67.5% | 46 | 30 March 200618.9 years after the peak |
| $20.9217 March 2008 | $8.8824 October 2008 | −57.6% | 7.3 | 22 September 20102.5 years after the peak |
| $48.7028 April 2011 | $13.5828 January 2016 | −72.1% | 57 | 8 October 202514.4 years after the peak |
| $118.4529 January 2026 | $55.2917 July 2026 | −53.3% | 5.6 | Still falling or below |
Two numbers stand out. The falls were fast: the 1980 and 2026 crashes each took about four to six months to reach the low. And the recoveries were slow: a buyer at the 1980 peak waited almost 46 years to get the money back in dollars of the day, and a buyer at the 2011 peak 14. Gold’s 1980 peak was passed in January 2008, after 28 years. Whether silver beat gold over the same years is in the gold-silver ratio, tested.
Silver price by year
| YEAR | AVERAGE | CHANGE | IN AUGUST 2026 $ | GOLD/SILVER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20269 months | $73.48 | +84.6% | $75.43 | 62.6 |
| 2025 | $39.80 | +40.8% | $41.34 | 88.1 |
| 2024 | $28.27 | +20.8% | $30.17 | 84.7 |
| 2023 | $23.41 | +7.5% | $25.74 | 83.1 |
| 2022 | $21.78 | −13.5% | $24.98 | 83.1 |
| 2021 | $25.17 | +22.5% | $31.15 | 71.8 |
| 2020 | $20.54 | +26.6% | $26.56 | 88.8 |
| 2019 | $16.22 | +3.2% | $21.24 | 85.9 |
| 2018 | $15.72 | −7.9% | $20.97 | 80.9 |
| 2017 | $17.06 | −0.6% | $23.31 | 73.8 |
| 2016 | $17.16 | +9.2% | $23.94 | 73.2 |
| 2015 | $15.72 | −17.6% | $22.22 | 73.9 |
| 2014 | $19.07 | −20.1% | $26.98 | 66.7 |
| 2013 | $23.86 | −23.4% | $34.33 | 59.7 |
| 2012 | $31.14 | −11.6% | $45.44 | 53.8 |
| 2011 | $35.23 | +74.8% | $52.43 | 45 |
| 2010 | $20.15 | +37.5% | $30.94 | 62 |
| 2009 | $14.65 | −2.3% | $22.85 | 67 |
| 2008 | $15.00 | +12.1% | $23.33 | 60.4 |
| 2007 | $13.38 | +15.7% | $21.61 | 52.1 |
| 2006 | $11.56 | +58.4% | $19.20 | 52.7 |
| 2005 | $7.30 | +9.6% | $12.52 | 61 |
| 2004 | $6.66 | +36.5% | $11.81 | 61.7 |
| 2003 | $4.88 | +6.3% | $8.88 | 74.6 |
| 2002 | $4.59 | +4.6% | $8.55 | 67.6 |
| 2001 | $4.39 | −11.5% | $8.31 | 61.8 |
| 2000 | $4.96 | −5.0% | $9.65 | 56.3 |
| 1999 | $5.22 | −6.1% | $10.51 | 53.4 |
| 1998 | $5.56 | +13.2% | $11.43 | 53.4 |
| 1997 | $4.91 | −5.6% | $10.24 | 67.9 |
| 1996 | $5.20 | −0.2% | $11.11 | 74.7 |
| 1995 | $5.21 | −1.3% | $11.45 | 74 |
| 1994 | $5.28 | +22.5% | $11.94 | 72.8 |
| 1993 | $4.31 | +8.8% | $9.99 | 83.9 |
| 1992 | $3.96 | −2.0% | $9.45 | 86.9 |
| 1991 | $4.04 | −16.5% | $9.94 | 89.8 |
| 1990 | $4.84 | −12.3% | $12.43 | 79.6 |
| 1989 | $5.52 | −15.3% | $14.92 | 69.3 |
| 1988 | $6.52 | −7.0% | $18.47 | 67.1 |
| 1987 | $7.01 | +28.9% | $20.64 | 64.5 |
| 1986 | $5.44 | −11.3% | $16.63 | 67.7 |
| 1985 | $6.13 | −24.8% | $19.10 | 51.9 |
| 1984 | $8.15 | −28.6% | $26.31 | 44.5 |
| 1983 | $11.42 | +43.8% | $38.44 | 37.4 |
| 1982 | $7.94 | −24.6% | $27.55 | 47.9 |
| 1981 | $10.53 | −49.4% | $38.98 | 44.4 |
| 1980 | $20.80 | +87.2% | $85.32 | 32 |
| 1979 | $11.11 | +105.0% | $50.62 | 29.7 |
| 1978 | $5.42 | +17.1% | $27.79 | 35.6 |
| 1977 | $4.63 | +5.7% | $25.61 | 31.9 |
| 1976 | $4.38 | −0.7% | $25.75 | 28.6 |
| 1975 | $4.41 | −6.0% | $27.45 | 36.6 |
| 1974 | $4.69 | +83.9% | $31.93 | 34.2 |
| 1973 | $2.55 | +51.8% | $19.19 | 38.2 |
| 1972 | $1.68 | +9.1% | $13.47 | 34.5 |
| 1971 | $1.54 | −13.0% | $12.76 | 26.9 |
| 1970 | $1.77 | −1.1% | $15.33 | 20.3 |
| 1969 | $1.79 | −17.1% | $16.37 | 22.9 |
| 1968 | $2.16 | +38.5% | $20.79 | 18.1 |
| 1967 | $1.56 | +20.0% | $15.62 | 23.2 |
| 1966 | $1.30 | 0.0% | $13.42 | 26.9 |
| 1965 | $1.30 | 0.0% | $13.82 | 26.9 |
| 1964 | $1.30 | +0.8% | $14.04 | 26.9 |
| 1963 | $1.29 | +20.6% | $14.13 | 27.1 |
| 1962 | $1.07 | +17.6% | $11.90 | 32.8 |
| 1961 | $0.91 | +1.1% | $10.18 | 38.6 |
| 1960 | $0.90 | $10.19 | 38.9 |
Yearly average of the World Bank’s monthly averages; 2026 covers 9 months. Gold/silver: ounces of silver one ounce of gold bought, on average over the year.
Best and worst years
Measured from the last London price of one year to the last of the next, silver rose in 29 of the 57 years from 1969 to 2025. The best were 1979 (+434.8%), 2025 (+149.1%), 2010 (+80.3%); the worst 1980 (−51.9%), 1981 (−47.4%), 2013 (−34.9%). So far in 2026, to 29 September 2026, it is −15.5%.
How much silver moves in a day
Since 1968 the typical move from one London price to the next was 0.95%, and 3.19% of days moved 5% or more. Over the last 252 prices, to 29 September 2026, the typical move was 2.05% and 13.89% of days moved 5% or more. The largest one-day fall since 1990 was −20.6% on 2 February 2026, four days after the record. The largest since 1968 was −22.7% on 28 April 1987; the largest rise +36.6% on 18 September 1979.
What this means for coins and bars is measured in how much is a silver dollar worth? and how much is a silver bar worth?, the silver once promised by paper money, and why the price sat at $1.30 until 1967, in how much is a silver certificate worth?, and whether buying silver paid off from every month since 1971 in is silver a good investment? This page is history, not a forecast or personal advice.
How we measured it
Yearly and monthly prices: the World Bank’s Commodity Price Data (the “Pink Sheet”), silver, monthly average in US dollars per troy ounce, January 1960 to September 2026. It reports every price to the nearest 10 cents. Records, crashes and daily moves: the LBMA Silver Price, every London fix from January 1968 to 29 September 2026. One row in that file, dated Saturday 5 February 1983, is an error (there is no fix on a Saturday) and was dropped. Today’s dollars: the BLS consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), to August 2026; the October 2025 figure was never published and is filled from its neighbours.
Common questions
What is the highest price silver has ever been?
$118.45 an ounce, the London silver price on 29 January 2026. After inflation the $49.45 of 18 January 1980 is higher: about $213 in August 2026 dollars, against about $122 for the 2026 record.
How much was silver in 1980?
It peaked at $49.45 on 18 January 1980 and averaged $20.80 over 1980. It did not close above $49.45 again until 9 October 2025, almost 46 years later.
How much was silver worth in the 1960s?
About $0.90 an ounce in 1960 and $1.30 from early 1963 to mid-1967, by the World Bank’s monthly series. It averaged $2.16 in 1968 and $1.79 in 1969.
How much has silver gone up in 10 years?
The yearly average rose from $15.72 in 2015 to $39.80 in 2025, +153.2%. The first nine months of 2026 averaged $73.48.
What was the price of silver in 2011?
It peaked at $48.70 on 28 April 2011 and averaged $35.23 for the year. By January 2016 it was down 72% from that peak; it closed above it again on 8 October 2025.
Is silver at an all-time high now?
Not on 29 September 2026: at $60.87 it was 48.6% below the 29 January 2026 record. That fall is the 8th time since 1968 that silver has dropped 50% or more.