Silver is the Rodney Dangerfield of the precious metals. It gets no respect. Maybe this chart says why. The price noted in the chart above is as of the end of August. Today it is lower around $17.80. On an inflation-adjusted basis, silver is trading around where it was in either the late 1800’s or “heavens above” back around 1780. Some improvement. Outside of a good run in the mid-1800’s and the famous Hunt Brothers spike into 1980 silver has actually been in a long-term downtrend on an inflation-adjusted basis.