Silver price over the last 10 years
Over the last 10 years the silver price was mostly range-bound between $14 and $20 per ounce from 2015 to 2019. The March 2020 COVID crash briefly took silver to about $12 — its cheapest in over a decade — before a sharp recovery into the $21–$28 average range through 2024, driven by a structural supply deficit and booming industrial demand from solar panels and electronics. Then came the breakout: silver averaged about $47 in 2025 and roughly $73 in 2026, smashing through the four-decade $50 ceiling and setting new all-time highs.
Silver price over the last 20 years
Twenty years ago (mid-2000s) silver was around $7 per ounce. It then rode the 2000s commodities bull market to its ≈$49 peak in April 2011, corrected through the 2010s, and re-based higher in the 2020s. Anyone tracking silver returns in the last 20 years has seen the metal multiply several times over in USD — and by more in currencies that depreciated against the dollar, such as the Indian rupee.
Highest silver price ever
For more than four decades the record was approximately $49.45 per ounce in January 1980, set during the Hunt Brothers' attempt to corner the market and nearly matched in April 2011 at ≈$49.80. That ceiling finally broke during the 2025–2026 rally: silver surged to a new all-time high of approximately $121.73 per ounce in 2026, averaging roughly $73 across the year so far before pulling back toward $58. Adjusted for inflation, however, the 1980 spike (worth well over $150 in today's dollars) still rivals even the 2026 record.
Silver price history in India (chandi)
In India the silver rate — chandi — is the international XAG/USD price converted to rupees, quoted per kilogram and per tola. Because the rupee has weakened against the dollar over the decades, the silver price history in India (INR) rises faster than the USD chart: silver that cost a few hundred rupees per 10 grams in 2000 costs many times more today. A 30-year silver price chart in Indian rupees therefore shows a much steeper climb than the same period in dollars — both the metal and the currency moved. See the live silver rate in India and Pakistan for today's figures.
The gold-to-silver ratio through history
The gold-to-silver ratio — how many ounces of silver buy one ounce of gold — has swung widely through history. It averaged around 47:1 over the last century, but has ranged from roughly 15:1 (when silver was a monetary metal) to over 100:1 (the March 2020 extreme). Today the ratio is about 69.6:1. Investors watch it to judge whether silver is cheap or expensive relative to gold.
Why the silver price is so volatile
Silver is a small market that is both a precious metal and an industrial metal, so it swings more than gold in both directions. Roughly half of silver demand is industrial (solar, electronics, batteries), which ties it to the economic cycle, while investment demand can move fast during inflation scares or crises. That dual nature is why silver's history is a series of sharp spikes and long consolidations rather than the steadier climb of gold.