Gold/silver ratio · New York
Gold/Silver Ratio
One ounce of gold buys 79.4 ounces of silver (market prices, 8:54 PM ET on November 3, 2026), higher than on 84% of trading days since 1968, 78% since 2000 and 33% of the last five years.
Up 0.48 from the previous 5 pm New York close (78.93); 24-hour range 78.38 to 80.14.
79.42
ounces of silver per ounce of gold
+0.48 (0.61%) todayFrom live market prices (mid-market), not the Ask
Gold/silver ratio chart
Average since 1968: 59.1 Middle 80% of days: 31.5 to 84.4
Intraday (1D, 1W): BullionTradingLLC.com live feed, market hours only · Daily: LBMA Gold Price and LBMA Silver Price (IBA) to Sep 28, 2026, then our 5 pm New York closes · Since 1687: MeasuringWorth yearly averages to 2025, then our yearly averages · Charts by TradingView · Chart images free to share with attribution
Chart notes
- 14.0 Jan 2, 1980 Record low, with silver at $39.95 on its way to the January 1980 peak (gold $559.50).
- 100.8 Feb 25, 1991 First close above 100: silver had slumped to $3.55, with gold at $357.65.
- 31.5 Apr 28, 2011 Silver reached $48.70 in the April 2011 rally; the lowest reading since October 1980.
- 123.5 Mar 17, 2020 Record high in the March 2020 market panic, with silver at $12.44 and gold at $1,536.20.
- 45.4 Jan 27, 2026 Silver’s record run ($111.57 that day, gold $5,064.25) took the ratio to its lowest close since September 2011.
- 79.4 Today Higher than on 84% of trading days since 1968.
Before 1968 (switch the chart to “Since 1687”): 1792, 15.2: U.S. Coinage Act sets gold at 15 times silver; 1834, 15.7: U.S. resets the legal ratio to 16 to 1; 1873, 15.9: Coinage Act ends free silver coinage; Europe drops silver; 1940, 99.8: Highest yearly average on record, with gold fixed at $35. From 1687 to 1872 the yearly ratio stayed between 14.1 and 16.3.
Gold/silver ratio statistics
Average since 1968
59.1
14,698 trading days
Median since 1968
61.6
Half of all days were higher
Record high
123.5
Mar 17, 2020
Record low
14.0
Jan 2, 1980
30-year average
67.8
Since Nov 3, 1996
5-year average
81.1
Above 80 on 64% of days
2026 average
64.0
To Nov 3 (low 45.4, Jan 27)
52-week range
45.4 – 83.4
Low Jan 27, 2026, high Nov 5, 2025
Daily closing ratios from Apr 1, 1968 to Nov 3, 2026 (14,698 trading days, through the last 5 pm New York close). Today’s live ratio (79.4) is not included until it closes.
How often the ratio has been this high
Share of the 14,698 trading days since April 1968 in each 10-point band. The ratio was below 50 on 32% of days and above 80 on 15%.
Half of all days fell between 42.9 and 74.2; the middle 80% between 31.5 and 84.4. Bullion Trading LLC research using LBMA (IBA) daily prices and our own closes after Sep 28, 2026.
Gold/silver ratio by decade
| Period | Average | Median | Low | High | Days above 80 | Days below 50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–69 | 20.9 | 20.9 | 16.1 Apr 1968 | 26.4 Jul 1969 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 1970s | 31.7 | 32.4 | 18.2 Mar 1970 | 47.6 Jun 1973 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| 1980s | 52.7 | 50.7 | 14.0 Jan 1980 | 77.6 Oct 1986 | 0.0% | 48.6% |
| 1990s | 73.7 | 74.3 | 38.3 Feb 1998 | 100.8 Feb 1991 | 32.4% | 5.4% |
| 2000s | 61.6 | 60.6 | 43.7 Apr 2006 | 84.5 Nov 2008 | 1.0% | 7.2% |
| 2010s | 67.6 | 69.0 | 31.5 Apr 2011 | 93.3 Jul 2019 | 16.5% | 8.5% |
| 2020s (to Nov 3) | 81.0 | 81.9 | 45.4 Jan 2026 | 123.5 Mar 2020 | 55.6% | 0.4% |
| Full period, 1968–2026 | 59.1 | 61.6 | 14.0 Jan 1980 | 123.5 Mar 2020 | 15.0% | 32.0% |
| Since 2000 | 68.8 | 67.8 | 31.5 Apr 2011 | 123.5 Mar 2020 | 20.7% | 6.0% |
| Last five years | 81.1 | 83.4 | 45.4 Jan 2026 | 105.3 Apr 2025 | 63.8% | 0.6% |
From 14,698 daily closes. Days above 80 and below 50 are shares of trading days in each period. Download yearly averages since 1687 (CSV) · Download the decade table (CSV). Yearly and decade summaries only; LBMA daily prices are not redistributed.
Gold/silver swap calculator at our prices
What a swap between gold and silver returns at the prices we pay and charge right now, compared with the market ratio. Check/wire prices; card and PayPal prices are 5% higher.
1We pay $3,829.30 for 1 oz of gold (our posted price for 95 of the 97 gold coins and bars we buy).
2That buys 71.56 oz of silver at $53.51 an ounce, 6.59% over the Ask: 1 oz Silver Rounds Random Brand (Lot of 10) Circulated Condition, our lowest premium in stock now.
You end up with 71.56 oz of silver per ounce of gold, against 79.42 at the market ratio: the two spreads cost 9.9% of the swap.
3To swap back to 1 oz of gold later at today’s spreads, the ratio would have to fall to 65.65 or lower.
Sell gold to us Shop silver bars See the 1 oz Silver Rounds Random Brand (Lot of 10) Circulated Condition
Live market prices with our posted buy prices and today’s lowest in-stock premiums over the Ask (gold 1.69%, silver 6.59%). Product prices reprice every few minutes and sales tax and shipping are extra where they apply. Purchases are priced at checkout; when you sell, we pay our posted rates at spot once your metal is verified ($1,000 minimum per sale). A calculator, not advice.
Other precious metal ratios
| Ratio | Now | Average since 1990 | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold/platinum ounces of platinum per ounce of gold | 2.78 | 1.11 | 0.41 Jan 2001 | 3.57 Apr 2025 |
| Gold/palladium ounces of palladium per ounce of gold | 4.18 | 2.02 | 0.24 Jan 2001 | 4.94 Feb 2009 |
| Platinum/palladium ounces of palladium per ounce of platinum | 1.51 | 2.25 | 0.32 Mar 2020 | 5.51 Mar 2009 |
Gold buys 2.78 ounces of platinum today against an average of 1.11 since 1990: until the 2010s platinum usually cost more than gold, and it has cost less on every day since Jan 15, 2015. Daily LBMA (IBA) prices since April 2, 1990, then our 5 pm New York closes; “now” is live. For stocks against gold, see the Dow/gold ratio over 100 years.
Reading the ratio
What moves the ratio
Silver is a smaller market than gold and a large share of it goes into industry, while gold is held mainly by investors and central banks. When markets panic, silver usually falls harder and the ratio jumps: it reached its record 123.5 on Mar 17, 2020, when silver fell to about $12. In strong rallies silver usually rises faster and the ratio drops: 14.0 in January 1980, 31.5 in April 2011 and 45.4 on Jan 27, 2026.
Does it return to an average?
It has swung back and forth inside a wide band, but the average itself has moved: 31.7 in the 1970s, 73.7 in the 1990s and 81.0 in the 2020s so far. Before 1873, when the United States and Europe fixed both metals in coins, it stayed between 14.1 and 16.3 for almost two centuries. So “the mean” depends on the years you pick, and a level that looked extreme in one era was normal in another.
How people use it
Some holders swap between the metals at set levels, often silver above 80 and gold below 50; others use the ratio only to decide which metal to add when they buy. Each swap pays a dealer spread on both sides, which the calculator above shows at today’s prices, and selling can be taxable. Our article tests the common swap rules against 58 years of prices. Does the 80/50 rule work?
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How these numbers are calculated
- Today’s ratio
- The live gold price divided by the live silver price, both mid-market interbank quotes in U.S. dollars per troy ounce, refreshed while the page is open. The 1D and 1W charts use the same feed, market hours only.
- Daily history
- The LBMA Gold Price (afternoon) divided by the LBMA Silver Price, both administered by ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA), from April 1, 1968 to Sep 28, 2026, then our own weekday 5 pm New York spot closes (26 days so far). Statistics use every day both prices exist: 14,698 days.
- Before 1968
- MeasuringWorth’s yearly ratio from 1687 (Hamburg prices to 1832, London to 1914, New York after), then our yearly averages of the daily series.
- Why other sites quote other records
- Monthly figures smooth out spikes. The record daily close is 123.5 (Mar 17, 2020), but the highest month-end reading is 115.5 (Mar 2020) and the highest monthly average 112.0 (Apr 2020). Futures-based charts differ again by a point or two.
- Percentiles
- Shares of days compare today’s live ratio with every daily close in the period (since April 1, 1968, since January 1, 2000, or the last five years). The shaded band on the chart holds the middle 80% of days since 1968.
- Downloads
- Yearly and decade summaries are free to reuse with credit to Bullion Trading LLC and the original sources: LBMA Gold Price and LBMA Silver Price (IBA), MeasuringWorth, Bullion Trading LLC closes. We don’t redistribute daily LBMA prices.
Sources: LBMA precious metal prices · MeasuringWorth · Bullion Trading LLC closes.
Questions about the gold/silver ratio
What is the gold/silver ratio?
The number of ounces of silver one ounce of gold buys: the gold price divided by the silver price. Right now it is 79.4, so an ounce of gold is worth about 79 ounces of silver, or 2.47 kilograms.
What is a normal gold/silver ratio?
Since 1968 it has averaged 59.1 with a median of 61.6, and the middle 80% of days fell between 31.5 and 84.4. Over the last five years the average was 81.1 and over 30 years 67.8, so “normal” depends on the period you compare with.
What is the highest the gold/silver ratio has been?
123.5 on Mar 17, 2020, the record daily close since 1968, during the March 2020 market panic. It first closed above 100 on Feb 25, 1991. The highest yearly average in records back to 1687 was 99.8, in 1940.
What is the lowest it has been?
14.0 on Jan 2, 1980, when silver spiked to its 1980 peak. In the last 15 years the low was 45.4 on Jan 27, 2026.
Is a high ratio a signal to buy silver?
Some people read a high ratio as silver being cheap against gold, and a low one as the opposite, but the ratio has stayed high or low for years at a time and doesn’t predict prices. This page describes the history; it isn’t investment advice.
Who publishes this page
Bullion Trading LLC, 20 West 47th Street
A physical bullion dealer in New York’s Diamond District, founded in 2008 by Isaac Kahan and part of the Kahan family’s business on 47th Street since 1968. The live ratio uses the same quotes that price our coins and bars, and the calculator uses the prices we buy and sell at today.
- Licensed by NYC Consumer and Worker Protection: Secondhand Dealer – General #1304378-DCA
- BBB Accredited Business, rated A+
- Store: Lower Level #24, Mon–Thu 8:30 AM – 4 PM, Fri 8:30 AM – 1 PM
The ratio describes past and present prices; it doesn’t predict them, and nothing on this page is investment advice. Spot prices are indicative market rates, not an offer to buy or sell. Calculator prices are our check/wire prices at live spot and change with the market.