⚠️ Important Disclaimer — Please Read First
This page is for educational purposes only. Nothing here is financial advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell silver or any other asset.
Silver is a volatile commodity. Its price can rise or fall sharply in a short period of time. You can lose money.
Before making any financial decision, consult a licensed financial advisor or investment professional who understands your personal situation.
The author is not responsible for any financial loss arising from use of this information.
Quick Summary
Silver has served as everyday money, a political symbol, and an investment asset for thousands of years. Two events stand out in its modern history:
- The Coinage Act of 1873 — A U.S. law that quietly removed silver from the coinage system, sparking decades of political outrage and earning the nickname the "Crime of 1873."
- November 28, 2025 — Silver prices shot to all-time highs after a major computer outage shut down the main U.S. silver futures exchange (COMEX) for several hours, while buyers around the world were pushing prices higher.
This page explains both events in plain language, tells you how silver markets work today — including the growing influence of China's Shanghai exchange — and gives you practical things to consider before you ever think about buying silver.
Historical Timeline
- Before 1873 Bimetallism: The United States used both gold and silver as official money. Citizens could bring silver to the mint and have it made into coins.
- Feb 12, 1873 Coinage Act of 1873: A new law modernized the U.S. mint system but quietly dropped the standard silver dollar from the list of coins. Silver lost its right to be coined freely.
- 1870s–1890s "Crime of 1873" controversy: As silver prices fell and economic hardship spread, farmers, miners, and politicians accused the government of secretly rigging the law to benefit bankers. The term "Crime of 1873" became a rallying cry.
- 1878 Bland–Allison Act: Congress forced the U.S. Treasury to buy silver each month and coin it into dollars — a partial win for the silver movement.
- 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act: Increased the amount of silver the government had to buy. The law was repealed in 1893 when it was blamed for a financial panic.
- Early 1900s Gold standard wins: The U.S. officially adopted the gold standard in 1900. Silver's role as money faded, though it remained important in coins for decades.
- 1944–1971 Bretton Woods era: The world pegged currencies to the U.S. dollar, which was tied to gold. Silver became mainly an industrial and collectible metal.
- 1971 Nixon closes the gold window: The U.S. ended the dollar's link to gold entirely. All major currencies became "fiat" — backed by government trust, not precious metals. This revived interest in gold and silver as stores of value.
- 1980 Silver spikes to ~$50/oz: The Hunt Brothers of Texas tried to corner the silver market, driving prices to a then-record high before regulators stepped in and prices collapsed.
- 2010s–2020s Renewed interest: Low interest rates, government money-printing, and geopolitical instability drove more investors toward precious metals as a hedge against inflation.
- Nov 28, 2025 COMEX outage & all-time high: A cooling system failure at a major data centre shut down COMEX trading for hours. Silver prices surged to record highs above $55–$56 per ounce.
The Coinage Act of 1873 — "Crime of 1873"
In 1873, the U.S. Congress passed a law to update and simplify the rules for making coins. On the surface, it looked like routine bookkeeping. But buried in the fine print was a major change: the standard silver dollar — the large coin that ordinary Americans used — was dropped from the list of coins the government would produce.
At the time, this change went almost unnoticed. But over the next few years, silver prices fell sharply, farm incomes collapsed, and debt became harder to repay. People started looking for someone to blame.
Why Did It Hurt So Many People?
Under the old bimetallic system, if you were a farmer or a silver miner, you could bring your silver to the mint and have it turned into coins at a fixed rate. That gave silver a guaranteed buyer — the government itself. The 1873 law ended that right.
Less silver in circulation meant the money supply shrank. When there is less money around, prices fall, debts become harder to pay, and wages get squeezed. Farmers who had borrowed money to buy land found their crops selling for less, but their loan payments stayed the same.
Why "Crime"?
Critics — led by politicians like William Jennings Bryan — argued that the law was deliberately written to benefit Eastern bankers and foreign bond holders who preferred a gold standard because it kept the money supply tight and preserved the value of the money they were owed. They called it a "crime" because it transferred wealth from working people to creditors, and because it was done quietly without public debate.
The COMEX Outage — November 28, 2025
COMEX (the Commodity Exchange) is the main U.S. marketplace where silver futures contracts are bought and sold. It is owned by CME Group and operates on a computer system called Globex. On November 28, 2025, a cooling system failure at the CyrusOne CHI1 data centre in Chicago caused COMEX to go offline for several hours.
What Happened to Silver Prices?
At the same time as the outage, there was already very strong buying pressure in the silver market. With the main U.S. futures exchange down, buyers and sellers had to trade on other markets — London, over-the-counter desks, and platforms in Asia. Strong demand hitting fewer available sellers pushed prices sharply higher.
What Does This Tell Us?
The November 28 event highlighted two important things about silver markets:
- Concentration risk: When the world's main silver futures exchange goes down — even for a few hours — it can cause extreme price swings. Markets depend on reliable infrastructure.
- Underlying demand: The outage alone did not cause the spike. Demand was already building due to concerns about inflation, currency debasement, and geopolitical uncertainty. The outage simply removed a major shock absorber at the worst possible moment.
Trading resumed later that day and prices eventually settled, but the event was a reminder of how fragile even the largest commodity markets can be.
Understanding Silver Price Moves
Silver prices can be confusing. They go up and down for many reasons at once. Here is a plain-language breakdown of what usually moves the price:
- Industrial demand: Silver is used in solar panels, electronics, medical devices, and electric vehicles. When demand for these products rises, so does silver demand.
- Safe-haven buying: When people are scared about the economy, war, or bank failures, they often buy gold and silver as a "safe place" for their money.
- Inflation and currency concerns: When governments print a lot of money and prices rise, silver (like gold) becomes more attractive because it holds its value better than paper currency over long periods.
- Interest rates: When interest rates are low, silver becomes more attractive — you are not giving up much by holding a metal that pays no interest. When rates are high, silver becomes less attractive.
- Futures market positioning: Large investors and funds buy and sell billions of dollars of silver futures contracts. Their moves can push prices sharply in either direction, even if the fundamental supply and demand picture has not changed.
- Technical and operational events: Like the November 2025 COMEX outage — disruptions to market infrastructure can amplify price moves dramatically.
The Shanghai Silver Market — Why It Matters Today
Most people in North America think of silver prices in terms of COMEX in New York or the London Bullion Market. But a third major force has been rising steadily: the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) in China.
What Is the Shanghai Futures Exchange?
The SHFE is China's main commodity futures market. It trades contracts for metals including silver, gold, copper, and aluminum. It operates under Chinese government oversight and prices are quoted in Chinese yuan (renminbi). Trading hours overlap with Asian markets and partially with European markets, meaning Shanghai silver trading affects global prices even before North American markets open each day.
How Does China Influence Global Silver Prices?
China is the world's largest industrial user of silver. Chinese factories manufacture a huge share of the world's solar panels, electronics, and electrical components — all of which require silver. When Chinese industrial demand rises or falls, it moves the entire global silver market.
Beyond that, Chinese investors increasingly view silver as a store of value and a hedge against their own currency's purchasing power. Retail silver buying in China has grown significantly, adding another layer of demand that didn't exist a generation ago.
COMEX vs. London vs. Shanghai — Key Differences
- COMEX (New York): The dominant futures exchange for silver price discovery in the West. Contracts are in U.S. dollars. Primarily used by financial investors, funds, and hedgers. Most silver price "benchmarks" you see in North American news come from COMEX.
- London Bullion Market: The world's largest over-the-counter physical silver trading hub. The "LBMA Silver Price" is set twice daily and used as the reference price for most physical silver trades globally — bars, coins, and industrial supply contracts.
- Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE): The dominant Asian futures exchange. Prices in yuan. Reflects Chinese demand directly. When the SHFE price diverges significantly from COMEX or London, it creates "arbitrage" — traders buy where silver is cheap and sell where it is expensive, which eventually pulls prices back together across all markets.
Why Shanghai Matters More and More
China's growing economic weight means the SHFE is increasingly a price-setter, not just a price-follower. Several developments make Shanghai more important:
- China's massive solar energy build-out is consuming record amounts of silver, and Chinese futures prices reflect that demand first.
- The Chinese government has been encouraging greater use of the yuan in commodity trade, which means more silver contracts priced in yuan rather than dollars.
- In times of stress — like the 2025 COMEX outage — Asian markets including Shanghai absorbed some of the excess buying pressure, meaning Shanghai's prices moved global prices that day.
- Global investors now watch the SHFE silver price alongside COMEX and London as part of a complete picture of the market.
Things to Consider Before Buying Silver
Silver can be a legitimate part of a diversified financial plan — but it is not right for everyone, and it comes with real risks. Here are five important things to think about carefully:
📉 Volatility
Silver prices can swing 10–20% or more in a single week. In 1980, silver went from under $5 to almost $50 per ounce — and then crashed back down within months. In 2011 it did the same thing. If you cannot handle watching your investment drop sharply in value, silver may not suit you.
🔒 Storage and Security
Physical silver is heavy, bulky, and must be stored securely. Options include a home safe, a bank safety deposit box, or a professional vault service. Each option has costs and trade-offs. Some investors buy "paper silver" (ETFs or futures) to avoid storage, but that comes with its own risks — you don't actually hold the metal.
⚠️ Scams and Fraud
Silver attracts fraudsters. Watch out for: dealers selling fake or heavily marked-up coins, online sellers with no verifiable reputation, "rare" coins promoted at many times the value of their actual silver content, high-pressure phone sales pitches, and "silver investment clubs" that operate like pyramid schemes. Only buy from well-established, regulated dealers.
🧩 Diversification
Silver should generally be a small part of a diversified portfolio — not the whole thing. Most financial advisors who include precious metals at all suggest keeping them to 5–10% of total investments. Putting a large portion of your savings into silver concentrates your risk significantly.
⏳ Time Horizon
Silver is a long-term hold for most investors, not a short-term trade. If you need your money in the next few years, silver is a risky place to put it — prices could be much lower when you need to sell. Silver has historically rewarded patient, long-term holders better than short-term traders.
💰 Taxes and Costs
In Canada, profits from selling silver are generally treated as capital gains or, in some cases, income — both are taxable. There are also costs to buying (dealer markup, premiums over spot price) and selling (commissions, spreads). These costs can eat significantly into your returns if you trade frequently.
Recommended Videos
These videos provide additional background on silver's history and markets:
Sources & Further Reading
All information on this page is drawn from publicly available sources. Key references:
- TradingEconomics — Silver historical price data and charts
- Reuters — November 28, 2025: silver reaches record high
- Nasdaq / Investing News — COMEX disruption and silver record
- Mining.com — Silver surge and COMEX outage coverage
- BullionVault — Silver at $55 record as CME/COMEX re-opens
- U.S. Mint — "Crime of 1873" official history
- Wikipedia — Coinage Act of 1873 (full text and analysis)
- Investopedia — Crime of 1873 explained
- CME Group — Official COMEX operator
- Why Silver Price Is Too Low — silvermath.html
- Financial False Hope — debt.tedlee.ca
Page originally generated November 30, 2025. Rewritten and expanded May 2026. Sources cited above.