Silver Halved This Year. The Last Time, Two Brothers Lost $1 Billion

In January 2026, silver hit about $121 an ounce, then crashed. In 1980 it crashed even harder, because two Texas brothers had been buying up the world's silver. This is how Bunker and Herbert Hunt pushed silver from $6 to $50, what Silver Thursday did to Wall Street, and why their record still stands. Told through three invented people: Maya, who bought silver coins the day before the 2026 peak; Sal, a trader on New York's Commodity Exchange in 1980; and Doris, a grandmother in Ohio with her wedding silver. It covers futures and margin calls, the silverware boom, the exchange's rule changes, the $100 million margin call, the $1.1 billion rescue, the 1988 verdict, and what 2026 repeated. Maya, Sal and Doris are invented characters, and their dialogue is dramatised. Real people (Nelson Bunker Hunt, William Herbert Hunt and Paul Volcker) appear only in narration or as generic cartoon figures, with their documented words. The 1988 verdict was a civil case, not a criminal conviction; the Hunts always said they were investors, not manipulators. History, not investment advice. Every number is sourced below. CHAPTERS 0:00 A hundred and twenty-one dollars 0:56 The richest family in Texas 1:48 How to buy a mountain 3:43 Silver fever 5:19 The rules change 6:31 Silver Thursday 7:28 The rescue 8:24 The bill 9:08 Again? Would you have sold your silver at $50, or kept the forks? Tell me in the comments. SOURCES SEC staff report, The Silver Crisis of 1980 (1982): https://sechistorical.org/wp-content/uploa... and https://sechistorical.org/wp-content/uploa... CFTC on deliverable silver, 1979 (testimony, 2010): https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/SpeechesTes... Taking delivery; the $50 of half dollars (CSM, 20 Mar 1980): https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0320/032052... Bunker Hunt on paper money; Tiffany's ad (Time, 7 Apr 1980): https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/a... Testimony quotes (Time, 12 May 1980): https://time.com/archive/6854741/business-... Margin call (CSM, 31 Mar 1980): https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0331/033106... Fed credit restraint (Dallas Fed, Mar 1980): https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/h... Volcker's statement (1 May 1980): https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/h... Comex governors (Fortune, 1980): https://fortune.com/2011/05/08/who-guards-... Silverware prices (CSM, 1981): https://csmonitor.com/1981/0630/063003.html Waldorf-Astoria returns (CSM, 13 May 1980): https://csmonitor.com/1980/0513/051335.html Lines and fights (Reason, 1982): https://reason.com/1982/01/01/what-went-do... Film prices (The Gamecock, 4 Feb 1980): https://historicnewspapers.sc.edu/lccn/201... 1988 verdict (Time; AP via Deseret News): https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/a... and https://www.deseret.com/1988/8/21/18775716... Bankruptcy and tax claims (AP via Deseret News, 1989): https://www.deseret.com/1989/7/11/18815197... Racehorse sale (Keeneland): https://www.keeneland.com/sites/default/fi... Herbert Hunt (Texas Monthly, 2001): https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/bunk... H. L. Hunt (Britannica): https://www.britannica.com/money/H-L-Hunt 1979 inflation (BLS): https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/... 2026 record and crash (Kitco; CNBC): https://www.kitco.com/news/article/2026-01... and https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/30/silver-gol... 2025 London squeeze (Bloomberg via mining.com): https://www.mining.com/web/silver-traders-... Margin increases (mining.com; Kitco): https://www.mining.com/web/cme-raises-gold... and https://www.kitco.com/news/off-the-wire/20... Coin shops and pawn shops (CNN Business): https://finance.yahoo.com/news/velvet-rope... Korea Mint sell-out (Bloomberg via mining.com): https://www.mining.com/web/silver-retail-b... Today's money (BLS CPI): https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/... CREDITS Illustrations, animation, voices, music and sound effects were made for this channel with AI tools. No third-party footage or music is used. Maya, Sal and Doris are invented; real people appear only as generic cartoon figures, with their documented words. #Silver #HuntBrothers #SilverThursday