The 1980 market collapse caused by the Hunt brothers’ attempt to corner the silver market was called Silver Thursday.
Silver Thursday occurred on 27 March 1980, when the price of silver plunged after regulators and lenders challenged the Hunts’ highly leveraged position. Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt had accumulated enormous silver holdings and futures contracts, helping push the metal’s price dramatically higher during the late 1970s.
Exchange rule changes, tighter credit, and margin requirements made it harder for the brothers to maintain their positions. When silver prices fell, they faced large obligations and difficulty meeting margin calls. The resulting panic threatened several brokers and banks, although a coordinated credit arrangement helped prevent a broader financial collapse.
Silver Thursday was primarily a commodities-market crisis rather than a conventional stock-market crash. Its importance comes from the way leverage, concentrated ownership, and forced selling transmitted stress through financial markets.