In late 1979, the silver futures prices witnessed a rapid hike due to the falling value of the US Dollar and market manipulation by two private investors. In fact, the price almost doubled as the silver price in COMEX reached US$50 by the end of the year.In 1980, the US government, concerned with the manipulation of the country’s silver reserves, enacted Silver Rule 7. This rule mandated tight provisioning for margin requirements for trade in silver futures.This burst the inflationary bubble of silver futures trading, and the prices dropped dramatically. On March 27, 1980, often referred to as the “Silver Thursday”, the silver price in COMEX fell from the high of US$ 48.70 to US$11.