Which 1980 U.S. silver-market collapse was nicknamed Silver Thursday?

Silver Thursday was the March 27, 1980, collapse in the price of silver after the Hunt brothers’ attempt to corner the market unraveled.

Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt accumulated enormous silver positions through physical metal, futures, and leveraged financing. Their buying helped drive silver prices to nearly $50 per troy ounce in January 1980. Exchanges then changed margin and trading rules, including restrictions that made it harder to add leveraged long positions. As prices fell, the Hunts faced margin calls and struggled to obtain financing.

The crisis became especially dangerous when banks and brokers feared that the Hunts might default on obligations. A consortium of banks arranged emergency credit, helping prevent a broader financial failure. Silver Thursday is often described as a commodity-market crash rather than a conventional stock-market crash. The episode illustrates how leverage, concentrated positions, and changing exchange rules can turn a price decline into a systemic threat.