Which metal-related market event was called Silver Thursday in the United States?

Silver Thursday was the 1980 silver crash in the United States.

The episode followed an attempt by brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt to corner the silver market. Their purchases, along with heavy borrowing, helped drive silver prices dramatically higher during the late 1970s. At one point, silver approached $50 per troy ounce in January 1980.

Exchange rule changes increased margin requirements and restricted new purchases, making it harder for the Hunts to maintain their leveraged positions. On 27 March 1980, silver prices collapsed, and the resulting financial stress threatened the Hunts’ ability to meet obligations.

The Federal Reserve and commercial banks helped organize financing to prevent a broader failure. The event is remembered as a commodities-market crash rather than a conventional stock-market crash, although it affected financial institutions and investors. It also became a classic example of leverage, concentration, and attempted market manipulation creating systemic risk.