Silver Price Adjusted for Inflation
Silver's record of $49.45 an ounce, the London fix on 18 January 1980, is worth about $213 in today's dollars, adjusted with the US consumer price index (CPI-U, latest: August 2026). At today's price of $53.78, silver is 74.7% below that inflation-adjusted record. The 2011 peak of $48.70 equals about $73 today. Measured on monthly averages, the highest real price so far was $169 in January 1980 (in today's dollars).
Updated Oct 22, 2026, 21:56 ET · CPI to August 2026
Silver in today's dollars vs the price at the time
Key moments in today's dollars
| Month | Price then | Today's $ | Today vs then |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1980 Hunt brothers squeeze: peak of the 1970s bull market (monthly average) |
$39.28 | $169 | −68% |
| November 2001 Low of the 1980–2003 bear market |
$4.12 | $8 | +591% |
| April 2011 2011 peak after the financial crisis |
$42.56 | $63 | −15% |
| January 2016 2015–16 low |
$14.04 | $20 | +171% |
| March 2020 Pandemic low (first half of 2020) |
$14.89 | $19 | +178% |
| August 2020 2020 rebound high |
$27.06 | $35 | +54% |
| 18 January 1980 Record London fix (single day) | $49.45 | $213 | −75% |
| 28 April 2011 2011 high (single day) | $48.70 | $73 | −26% |
"Today vs then" compares today's spot price with the inflation-adjusted price: a positive number means silver is worth more now, after inflation. "Today's dollars" means August 2026 dollars, the latest CPI month; prices since then are compared as they are.
Real vs nominal: what the chart shows
A "nominal" price is the price in the dollars of the day. Because the dollar loses purchasing power over time, old prices look small: $49.45 in January 1980 bought as much as about $213 buys today.
Adjusting for inflation answers a different question — was silver more or less valuable then, in terms of what it could buy? On that measure, silver's January 1980 peak has never been matched, even though the nominal record fell in October 2025.
This page adjusts for US inflation only. For returns in other currencies see returns by year & currency, and for daily prices the silver price history. You can also compare silver with gold, stocks and bitcoin on the silver charts page, or see the gold/silver ratio since 1968.
Average Silver Price by Year, Adjusted for Inflation
Average of monthly prices, US dollars per troy ounce. "Today's $" uses CPI-U to August 2026.
| Year | Average price | In today's dollars | vs today's price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 10 mo | $71.27 | $71.93 | −25% |
| 2025 | $39.99 | $41.53 | +29% |
| 2024 | $28.25 | $30.14 | +78% |
| 2023 | $23.41 | $25.74 | +109% |
| 2022 | $21.76 | $24.96 | +116% |
| 2021 | $25.18 | $31.17 | +73% |
| 2020 | $20.62 | $26.67 | +102% |
| 2019 | $16.16 | $21.16 | +154% |
| 2018 | $15.65 | $20.89 | +157% |
| 2017 | $17.05 | $23.30 | +131% |
| 2016 | $17.08 | $23.82 | +126% |
| 2015 | $15.70 | $22.20 | +142% |
| 2014 | $19.09 | $27.01 | +99% |
| 2013 | $23.86 | $34.33 | +57% |
| 2012 | $31.16 | $45.46 | +18% |
| 2011 | $35.20 | $52.40 | +3% |
| 2010 | $20.16 | $30.96 | +74% |
| 2009 | $14.65 | $22.86 | +135% |
| 2008 | $15.00 | $23.34 | +130% |
| 2007 | $13.40 | $21.64 | +148% |
| 2006 | $11.57 | $19.22 | +180% |
| 2005 | $7.31 | $12.53 | +329% |
| 2004 | $6.66 | $11.80 | +356% |
| 2003 | $4.88 | $8.88 | +505% |
| 2002 | $4.60 | $8.57 | +527% |
| 2001 | $4.37 | $8.28 | +550% |
| 2000 | $4.95 | $9.64 | +458% |
| 1999 | $5.22 | $10.50 | +412% |
| 1998 | $5.55 | $11.41 | +371% |
| 1997 | $4.91 | $10.24 | +425% |
| 1996 | $5.20 | $11.10 | +384% |
| 1995 | $5.21 | $11.45 | +370% |
| 1994 | $5.28 | $11.94 | +351% |
| 1993 | $4.31 | $9.99 | +438% |
| 1992 | $3.95 | $9.43 | +470% |
| 1991 | $4.05 | $9.97 | +439% |
| 1990 | $4.83 | $12.41 | +333% |
| 1989 | $5.51 | $14.89 | +261% |
| 1988 | $6.53 | $18.51 | +191% |
| 1987 | $7.02 | $20.69 | +160% |
| 1986 | $5.47 | $16.70 | +222% |
| 1985 | $6.13 | $19.10 | +182% |
| 1984 | $8.14 | $26.28 | +105% |
| 1983 | $11.45 | $38.57 | +39% |
| 1982 | $7.92 | $27.47 | +96% |
| 1981 | $10.52 | $38.97 | +38% |
| 1980 | $20.87 | $85.63 | −37% |
| 1979 | $11.11 | $50.61 | +6% |
| 1978 | $5.42 | $27.80 | +93% |
| 1977 | $4.63 | $25.61 | +110% |
| 1976 | $4.35 | $25.61 | +110% |
| 1975 | $4.43 | $27.56 | +95% |
| 1974 | $4.68 | $31.84 | +69% |
| 1973 | $2.54 | $19.10 | +182% |
| 1972 | $1.68 | $13.42 | +301% |
| 1971 | $1.54 | $12.74 | +322% |
| 1970 | $1.77 | $15.26 | +252% |
| 1969 | $1.80 | $16.45 | +227% |
| 1968 | $2.19 | $21.08 | +155% |
Inflation-Adjusted Silver FAQ
What is silver's inflation-adjusted all-time high?
On monthly average prices, the highest level in today's dollars was $169 per ounce in January 1980 ($39.28 at the time). The highest single-day price in our data is the London fix of $49.45 on 18 January 1980, which equals about $213 today. Silver's current price of $53.78 is 74.7% below that figure.
Is silver above its 1980 high after inflation?
No. Adjusted with US CPI, the January 1980 record of $49.45 is about $213 in today's money, and silver now trades at $53.78, 74.7% lower. In nominal terms the record was first passed on 13 October 2025.
What happened to silver in 1980?
Nelson Bunker Hunt and William Herbert Hunt, with Middle Eastern partners, built up a huge position in physical silver and futures from 1979. The price rose from about $6 to $49.45 by 18 January 1980. COMEX then restricted buying on margin, the Hunts could not meet margin calls, and on "Silver Thursday", 27 March 1980, the price collapsed. Silver averaged $16.42 by December 1980.
How long did it take silver to recover its 1980 peak in real terms?
It hasn't. Using monthly averages, silver has not regained its January 1980 level of $169 in today's dollars; even the 2011 peak reached only about $73 in today's money.
How is the inflation-adjusted silver price calculated?
Each month's average silver price is multiplied by the latest US consumer price index (CPI-U, August 2026) and divided by the index for that month. Prices after the latest CPI month are treated as already being in today's dollars, and the current month uses the live spot price. This shows what past prices would be in today's US dollars; it does not adjust for inflation in other currencies.
Why does the chart start in 1968?
Until 1967–68 the US Treasury sold silver at a fixed $1.29 an ounce, which capped the price; a free market price only emerged when those sales ended. Our data has no free-market London silver series before 1968, so the chart starts there.
Does silver keep up with inflation?
Not reliably. After January 1980 its real price fell by about 95% by November 2001. Silver is both a monetary and an industrial metal, so its price swings far more than consumer prices. Past performance does not predict future results, and nothing here is investment advice.