By Ted Butler
Twice over the past 42 years, the price of silver has risen to $50; once back in 1980 and again 11 years ago, in 2011. Obviously, no one would argue that something that occurred twice already is not capable of happening again. On both prior silver price peaks, prices then fell sharply and quickly. But the next coming move to $50 in silver is much more likely to not only exceed the past two highs, but also remain far higher for far longer than previously.
In 1980, the price of silver rose from $7 to $50 in little more than a year, driven, essentially, by the concerted buying, both in futures and physical metal by interests associated with the Hunt Brothers from Texas and then fell even more sharply as a result of exchange and regulatory actions to unwind the Hunt’s buying. But the epic price run up did show, conclusively, that speculative investment buying could drive silver prices sharply higher.