Which 1980 collapse in silver prices became known as Silver Thursday?

The 1980 collapse in silver prices became known as Silver Thursday.

Silver Thursday took place on March 27, 1980, when the price of silver plunged after regulators and exchanges changed trading and lending rules. The Hunt brothers—Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt—had accumulated a huge position in silver futures and physical metal, helping drive prices dramatically higher.

As prices fell, the Hunts faced margin calls and struggled to meet their obligations. A group of banks arranged emergency financing, helping prevent a disorderly default that could have spread through commodity and financial markets.

Silver Thursday was primarily a commodities-market crash, not a conventional stock-exchange crash. It is often discussed alongside market-crisis history because the episode demonstrated how leverage, concentrated positions, margin calls, and changing exchange rules can turn a price reversal into a systemic threat.