I was alive and aware in 1980. I recall that January when the price of silver teetered on $50 per ounce. That was unheard of – so much so, lines of people hoping to sell their silver bowls and flatware to coin dealers wrapped around city blocks. Previously, silver had quietly languished at just a few dollars per ounce. However, that year, two investors known as the Hunt brothers tried to corner the market in silver.
I still don’t see how that’s possible. I’m not savvy enough to understand how one can corner a market where 26 million new metric tons of the metal are mined annually. It doesn’t matter. Word got out the Hunts were trying to do just that. Silver made endless news headlines and the price soared....
It was all fleeting. Just two months later, in March 1980, prices collapsed to barely $11 per ounce. Later that year, prices fluctuated with an average of $20 per ounce. By 1991, silver had sunk to as low as $3.55 per ounce.
Just six months ago it was near $30 per ounce. It’s taken 45 years but, last week, silver finally met and eclipsed its peak 1980 threshold. As of this writing, it is over $53 per ounce. Perhaps investors who bought and held the precious metal way back then should rejoice. Or, not. Given time and inflation, silver would now have to be over $200 per ounce for a 1980’s investor to break even.
Current prices can make those of us alive and aware today uneasy. There’s anxiety in people’s lives and the market. Investors are again turning to tangibles such as silver and gold as a hedge against the unknown. One day last week, gold climbed $142 to over $4,300.
In 2005, a friend named Terry Dunaway wanted to talk about investing in silver. Over lunch I explained some good ways to so if he opted to take possession and hold onto it. As a thank you for lunch and to get Terry started, I sent him a one-ounce ingot of silver. At the time, silver was about $7.00 per ounce. I don’t know if he bought more or not. Maybe. Terry likes to keep things under the radar. Unlike the Hunt Brothers, when it comes to investing, that’s a wise tack.
A few years prior, Terry’s son Tyler had gone into the Navy. He was a standout. He may have attended Annapolis and graduated as an officer. I don’t know. But, he became one. Tyler rose through the ranks achieving an impressive status. Again, Terry keeps things quiet.
I thought of Terry and Tyler last week when it was mentioned on the news that, on October 13, the United States Navy celebrated its 250th anniversary. Our Navy was created in 1775 to fight the British after the Revolution officially began on April 19, 1775 at Lexington and Concord. That was ambitious. At the time, Great Britain had the largest and most experienced navy in the world. Theirs dwarfed our puny fleet of skiffs and merchant ships. Nevertheless, eventually we prevailed.
Numerous collectible stamps and coins have been created to commemorate the US Navy. Most have featured images of naval seamen or the ships and planes they command. A few weeks ago, in preparation of the big naval anniversary, the US Mint struck a new silver coin saluting the navy’s semiquincentennial. Like Terry and Tyler, it remained somewhat under the radar.
The new 2025 numismatic commemoration of the Navy is found on a regular American Eagle one-ounce silver coin. Those feature the familiar image of allegorical Walking Lady Liberty in full stride on the front and a bald eagle in flight on the reverse. On the recent naval commemorative version, just to the right of Lady Liberty, a small privy mark is evident.
A privy mark is an extra miniature indicia included on a coin. The privy mark for the Navy commemorative is circular with the words “UNITED STATES NAVY” surrounding a tiny spread eagle and ten stars. The mark is subtle but significant. Collectors love such things.
The US Mint is selling the coin in uncirculated condition for $105 apiece. That may be double the current price of silver but the Mint has announced the issue has already sold out. Happily, they have also noted the coin “may be restocked later.” It just goes to show the pending interest and popularity of such issues and demand for silver. Clearly, for collectors, silver coins such as this aren’t “under the radar.”
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