Gold and Silver Prices History in $US

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Go to Silver Prices

At a wholesale level, the London OTC (over-the-counter) market, working with the Bank of England, has historically been the centre of the gold trade for perhaps the past 350 years, today comprising approximately 70% of global notional trading volume.
New York futures trading handles perhaps 15% (or more), Shanghai 5% (or more), leaving currently less than 10% to be traded in Dubai, India, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Gold Prices per Ounce - Historical Annual Data

Gold Prices Based on www.macrotrends.net

Year ▲▼ Average
Closing Price
Year Open Year High Year Low Year Close Annual
% Change
2023 $1,943.00 $1,824.16 $2,115.10 $1,811.27 $2,062.92 13.08%
2022 $1,801.87 $1,800.10 $2,043.30 $1,626.65 $1,824.32 -0.23%
2021 $1,798.89 $1,946.60 $1,954.40 $1,678.00 $1,828.60 -3.51%
2020 $1,773.73 $1,520.55 $2,058.40 $1,472.35 $1,895.10 24.43%
2019 $1,393.34 $1,287.20 $1,542.60 $1,270.05 $1,523.00 18.83%
2018 $1,268.93 $1,312.80 $1,360.25 $1,176.70 $1,281.65 -1.15%
2017 $1,260.39 $1,162.00 $1,351.20 $1,162.00 $1,296.50 12.57%
2016 $1,251.92 $1,075.20 $1,372.60 $1,073.60 $1,151.70 8.63%
2015 $1,158.86 $1,184.25 $1,298.00 $1,049.60 $1,060.20 -11.59%
2014 $1,266.06 $1,219.75 $1,379.00 $1,144.50 $1,199.25 -0.19%
2013 $1,409.51 $1,681.50 $1,692.50 $1,192.75 $1,201.50 -27.79%
2012 $1,668.86 $1,590.00 $1,790.00 $1,537.50 $1,664.00 5.68%
2011 $1,573.16 $1,405.50 $1,896.50 $1,316.00 $1,574.50 11.65%
2010 $1,226.66 $1,113.00 $1,426.00 $1,052.25 $1,410.25 27.74%
2009 $973.66 $869.75 $1,218.25 $813.00 $1,104.00 27.63%
2008 $872.37 $840.75 $1,023.50 $692.50 $865.00 3.41%
2007 $696.43 $640.75 $841.75 $608.30 $836.50 31.59%
2006 $604.34 $520.75 $725.75 $520.75 $635.70 23.92%
2005 $444.99 $426.80 $537.50 $411.50 $513.00 17.12%
2004 $409.53 $415.20 $455.75 $373.50 $438.00 4.97%
2003 $363.83 $342.20 $417.25 $319.75 $417.25 21.74%
2002 $310.08 $278.10 $348.50 $277.80 $342.75 23.96%
2001 $271.19 $272.80 $292.85 $256.70 $276.50 1.41%
2000 $279.29 $282.05 $316.60 $263.80 $272.65 -6.26%
1999 $278.86 $288.25 $326.25 $252.90 $290.85 1.18%
1998 $294.12 $287.70 $314.60 $273.40 $287.45 -0.61%
1997 $331.00 $367.80 $367.80 $283.05 $289.20 -21.74%
1996 $387.73 $387.10 $416.25 $368.30 $369.55 -4.43%
1995 $384.07 $381.40 $396.95 $372.45 $386.70 1.10%
1994 $384.16 $395.00 $397.50 $370.25 $382.50 -2.09%
1993 $360.05 $329.40 $406.70 $326.50 $390.65 17.35%
1992 $343.87 $351.20 $359.30 $330.20 $332.90 -5.80%
1991 $362.34 $392.50 $403.70 $343.50 $353.40 -9.62%
1990 $383.73 $401.65 $421.40 $346.75 $391.00 -2.49%
1989 $381.27 $413.60 $417.15 $358.10 $401.00 -2.23%
1988 $436.78 $484.10 $485.30 $389.05 $410.15 -15.69%
1987 $446.84 $402.40 $502.75 $392.60 $486.50 24.46%
1986 $368.20 $327.10 $442.75 $326.00 $390.90 19.54%
1985 $317.42 $306.25 $339.30 $285.00 $327.00 5.83%
1984 $360.65 $384.00 $406.85 $303.25 $309.00 -19.00%
1983 $423.71 $452.75 $511.50 $374.75 $381.50 -14.84%
1982 $376.11 $399.00 $488.50 $297.00 $448.00 12.00%
1981 $459.16 $592.00 $599.25 $391.75 $400.00 -32.15%
1980 $614.75 $559.00 $843.00 $474.00 $589.50 12.50%
1979 $307.01 $227.15 $524.00 $216.55 $524.00 133.41%
1978 $193.57 $168.60 $243.65 $166.30 $224.50 35.57%
1977 $147.84 $136.10 $168.15 $129.40 $165.60 23.08%
1976 $124.80 $140.35 $140.35 $103.05 $134.55 -4.06%
1975 $160.87 $185.00 $186.25 $128.75 $140.25 -25.20%
1974 $158.76 $114.75 $197.50 $114.75 $187.50 67.04%
1973 $97.12 $64.99 $127.00 $64.10 $112.25 73.49%
1972 $58.17 $43.73 $70.00 $43.73 $64.70 48.74%
1971 $40.80 $37.33 $43.90 $37.33 $43.50 16.37%
1970 $35.96 $35.13 $39.19 $34.78 $37.38 6.16%
1969 $41.10 $41.80 $43.75 $35.20 $35.21 -16.07%
1968 $38.69 $35.50 $41.95 $35.50 $41.95 18.17%
1967 $34.95 $35.40 $35.50 $34.95 $35.50 0.28%
1966 $35.13 $35.50 $35.50 $35.00 $35.40 -0.28%
1965 $35.12 $35.35 $35.50 $35.00 $35.50 0.42%

 

Silver Prices History (also Wages Paid up to the 1800s)

In Hebrew the word for "money" or "silver" is "Kesep" (pronounced ke-sef) click here, first used in scripture with the account of Abraham, 4000 years ago.

Kesep is derived from Kacaph click here, a word that means "pining" i.e. paleness (in colour) and translated as "long for", "desire", "greedy".

  1. So, at the time of Christ in 30AD, a wage of one denarius contained about one-eighth of a Roman ounce of silver (27 grams), i.e. about 3.375 grams
  2. By the time of Charlemagne in 800AD, the denarius was known as a denier in Francia, a pfennig in Germania, or a penny in Britannia with a Tower ounce of 29 grams making up 20 pennies. Daily Wage: 1d (1.45 grams)
  3. In the late 1400s-early 1500s, a Troy ounce of 31 grams made up 31 pennies of sterling silver (92½% fine). Daily Wage: 4d (about 4 grams)
  4. In 1601, 62 pennies made up the troy ounce. Daily Wage: 10d (about 5 grams)
  5. In 1792 the US adopted the "silver dollar" as its official currency at $US1.29 per troy ounce, $0.02 per penny. Daily Wage: 25 to 50 cents (about 6 to 12 grams)

Following the US Civil War, when the price of silver bullion soared to $2.94 in 1864 and remained historically high for over a decade, in 1873 Congress chose to omit the silver dollar from its list of authorized coins. Click here for a more detailed report, covering this period 1792 - 1971.

Extract from www.silverinstitute.org
In 1966, the Treasury's program of eliminating silver from coinage was firmly in place. The Treasury continued to use some silver in coins from then until 1969, but the annual average during those four years 1966-1969 was 38.5 million ounces, way down from 178 million ounces per year on average during the previous four years. In Europe, Austria, France, and West Germany continued to use silver in some circulating coins until the late 1970s.

Investors however remained keenly interested in silver, absorbing in investment around 620.5 million ounces of silver from 1964 through 1970. Interestingly, the price of silver rose from $1.29 in 1966 to a peak of $2.57 in 1968, before falling back shortly after. The rise and fall in silver prices was coincidental with the volume of these investor purchases, then as investor demand decreased over the next three years, prices softened commensurately.

And precious metal coins were hoarded from 1967 as the Treasury ended its efforts to keep silver prices low.

Silver Thursday was an event that occurred in the United States silver commodity markets on Thursday, March 27, 1980, following the attempt by brothers Nelson Bunker Hunt, William Herbert Hunt and Lamar Hunt (also known as the Hunt Brothers) to corner the silver market. A subsequent steep fall in silver prices led to panic on commodity and futures exchanges, before settling down.

Silver Prices per Ounce - Historical Annual Data

Silver Prices Based on www.macrotrends.net

Year ▲▼ Average
Closing Price
Year Open Year High Year Low Year Close Annual
% Change
2023 $23.40 $23.96 $26.06 $20.01 $23.79 -0.72%
2022 $21.76 $22.81 $26.90 $17.83 $23.96 2.64%
2021 $25.14 $27.36 $29.42 $21.49 $23.35 -11.55%
2020 $20.69 $18.05 $29.26 $11.77 $26.40 47.44%
2019 $16.22 $15.65 $19.55 $14.32 $17.90 15.36%
2018 $15.71 $17.21 $17.62 $13.98 $15.52 -9.40%
2017 $17.07 $16.41 $18.51 $15.43 $17.13 7.12%
2016 $17.17 $13.84 $20.70 $13.75 $15.99 15.86%
2015 $15.66 $15.71 $18.23 $13.70 $13.80 -13.59%
2014 $19.07 $19.94 $22.05 $15.28 $15.97 -18.10%
2013 $23.79 $30.87 $32.23 $18.61 $19.50 -34.89%
2012 $31.15 $28.78 $37.23 $26.67 $29.95 6.28%
2011 $35.12 $30.67 $48.70 $26.16 $28.18 -8.00%
2010 $20.19 $17.17 $30.70 $15.14 $30.63 80.28%
2009 $14.67 $11.08 $19.18 $10.51 $16.99 57.46%
2008 $14.99 $14.93 $20.92 $8.88 $10.79 -26.90%
2007 $13.38 $13.01 $15.82 $11.67 $14.76 14.42%
2006 $11.55 $9.04 $14.94 $8.83 $12.90 46.09%
2005 $7.31 $6.39 $9.23 $6.39 $8.83 29.47%
2004 $6.66 $5.99 $8.29 $5.50 $6.82 14.24%
2003 $4.88 $4.74 $5.97 $4.37 $5.97 27.84%
2002 $4.60 $4.59 $5.10 $4.24 $4.67 3.32%
2001 $4.37 $4.59 $4.82 $4.07 $4.52 -1.31%
2000 $4.95 $5.30 $5.45 $4.57 $4.58 -14.07%
1999 $5.22 $5.00 $5.75 $4.88 $5.33 6.39%
1998 $5.54 $5.94 $7.81 $4.69 $5.01 -16.50%
1997 $4.90 $4.77 $6.27 $4.22 $6.00 25.00%
1996 $5.20 $5.17 $5.83 $4.71 $4.80 -6.61%
1995 $5.20 $4.84 $6.04 $4.42 $5.14 5.98%
1994 $5.29 $5.28 $5.75 $4.64 $4.85 -5.27%
1993 $4.31 $3.66 $5.42 $3.56 $5.12 39.51%
1992 $3.95 $3.87 $4.34 $3.65 $3.67 -4.92%
1991 $4.06 $4.16 $4.57 $3.55 $3.86 -7.88%
1990 $4.83 $5.21 $5.36 $3.95 $4.19 -19.73%
1989 $5.50 $6.07 $6.21 $5.05 $5.22 -13.72%
1988 $6.53 $6.64 $7.82 $6.05 $6.05 -9.70%
1987 $7.02 $5.36 $10.93 $5.36 $6.70 26.89%
1986 $5.47 $5.81 $6.31 $4.85 $5.28 -8.97%
1985 $6.13 $6.25 $6.75 $5.45 $5.80 -7.79%
1984 $8.15 $8.96 $10.11 $6.22 $6.29 -29.41%
1983 $11.42 $11.07 $14.67 $7.54 $8.91 -18.03%
1982 $7.92 $8.06 $11.11 $4.90 $10.87 33.37%
1981 $10.49 $15.80 $16.30 $8.03 $8.15 -47.42%
1980 $20.98 $39.95 $49.45 $10.89 $15.50 -51.86%
1979 $11.07 $6.08 $32.20 $5.94 $32.20 434.88%
1978 $5.42 $4.87 $6.26 $4.82 $6.02 26.47%
1977 $4.64 $4.43 $4.98 $4.31 $4.76 9.17%
1976 $4.35 $4.16 $5.08 $3.83 $4.36 4.31%
1975 $4.43 $4.44 $5.21 $3.93 $4.18 -6.49%
1974 $4.67 $3.28 $6.76 $3.27 $4.47 37.12%
1973 $2.55 $2.04 $3.26 $1.96 $3.26 60.59%
1972 $1.68 $1.37 $2.03 $1.37 $2.03 48.18%
1971 $1.54 $1.65 $1.75 $1.27 $1.37 -15.95%
1970 $1.77 $1.80 $1.93 $1.57 $1.63 -8.94%
1969 $1.80 $1.96 $2.04 $1.56 $1.79 -8.21%
1968 $1.96 $2.17 $2.57 $1.84 $1.95 -10.14%
1967 $2.06 $1.31 $2.17 $1.29 $2.17 63.16%
1966 $1.29 $1.29 $1.31 $1.29 $1.31 1.55%
1965 $1.29 $1.29 $1.29 $1.29 $1.29 0.00%
1792 $1.29 $1.29 $1.29 $1.29 $1.29 0.00%

1601 62 English pennies
1412 31 English pennies
800 20 English pennies
30 8 Roman denarii

** End of List

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