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Let’s go step by step again for 2002

Step 1: Average (median) U.S. house price in 2002

According to U.S. Census and Federal Reserve data, the median home sale price in 2002 was about $187,600.

Step 2: Gold price in 2002

Gold averaged roughly $310 per troy ounce that year.
(Source: World Gold Council historical data)

Step 3: Calculate ounces of gold needed

Ounces of gold=House priceGold price per ounce=187,600310≈605 ounces\text{Ounces of gold} = \frac{\text{House price}}{\text{Gold price per ounce}} = \frac{187,600}{310} \approx 605 \text{ ounces}Ounces of gold=Gold price per ounceHouse price​=310187,600​≈605 ounces

Answer:
It took about 605 ounces of gold to buy the median U.S. house in 2002.

Bonus comparison:

• 1968: ~706 ounces

• 2002: ~605 ounces

• 2025 (today): median home ~$430,000 / gold ~$2,400 ⇒ ~180 ounces

• In terms of gold, U.S. houses have become roughly 3–4× cheaper since 1968.

That’s a great historical economics question — let’s work through it step by step.

Step 1: Average U.S. house price in 1968

According to U.S. Census and Federal Reserve data, the median home price in 1968 was approximately $24,700.

Step 2: Gold price in 1968

In 1968, gold was still under the Bretton Woods system, which pegged the official price of gold at $35 per troy ounce.

Step 3: Calculate ounces of gold needed

Ounces of gold=House priceGold price per ounce=24,70035≈706 ounces\text{Ounces of gold} = \frac{\text{House price}}{\text{Gold price per ounce}} = \frac{24,700}{35} \approx 706 \text{ ounces}Ounces of gold=Gold price per ounceHouse price​=3524,700​≈706 ounces

Answer:
It took roughly 706 ounces of gold to buy an average U.S. house in 1968.

Bonus perspective:

If you bought that house in gold instead of dollars:

• Today (2025), gold is roughly around $2,400/oz (this fluctuates).

• The same 706 ounces of gold would now be worth about $1.7 million, while the median U.S. home price in 2025 is around $400,000–$450,000.

So, in gold terms, houses have become much cheaper over time.

Excellent question — and 1980 is a particularly interesting year because silver prices spiked dramatically due to the Hunt brothers’ attempt to corner the silver market. Let’s walk through it carefully:

Step 1: Median U.S. house price in 1980

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the median new home price in 1980 was about $64,600.

Step 2: Silver price in 1980

Silver prices fluctuated wildly that year:

• January 1980 peak: ≈ $49.45 per ounce

• 1980 annual average: ≈ $20.98 per ounce

Let’s calculate both ways to show the range.

Step 3: Calculate ounces of silver needed

At the January 1980 peak ($49.45/oz):

64,60049.45≈1,307 ounces\frac{64,600}{49.45} \approx 1,307 \text{ ounces}49.4564,600​≈1,307 ounces

At the 1980 annual average ($20.98/oz):

64,60020.98≈3,078 ounces\frac{64,600}{20.98} \approx 3,078 \text{ ounces}20.9864,600​≈3,078 ounces

Answer:
It took roughly 1,300–3,100 ounces of silver to buy a median U.S. home in 1980, depending on whether you use the market peak or the year’s average silver price.

Bonus perspective:

• 1968 (gold basis): ~706 oz gold per home

• 1980 (silver basis): ~1,300–3,100 oz silver per home

• Today (2025): median home ~$430,000 / silver ~$28/oz → ~15,000 oz silver per home

So — in silver terms, houses are much more expensive today than during the 1980 silver boom.

https://chatgpt.com/

India’s adoption of a 10:1 silver-to-gold collateral ratio marks a historic shift in the monetary system, granting silver formal recognition as a financial asset and establishing a new reference point for silver’s valuation in modern banking.

https://thesilverindustry.substack.com/p/india-unleashes-silver-as-banking

https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/precious-metals/article-871338

And why fixed income is buying and allocating  gold..

I’m wondering and hoping these tarriffs won’t hurt more business than it brings in or back with supply issues aside from bubbies.

https://x.com/TFTC21/status/1977027310479196206

The Government shut down could last till mid November. The longest in history. Grocery store are not gonna like the demos. I think the snap food stamp program they get them on it around the first of the month. I remember getting off work during the night and stopping at Walmart occasionally to grab a few things  that stayed open past midnight back then and around the first of the month people would be shopping midnight hours with young children and baby’s. They couldn’t even wait till morning.

https://x.com/Polymarket/status/1981075100209418430

https://x.com/shanaka86/status/1981389723966066889

https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/10/15/gold-isn-t-overpriced-on-purchasing-power-test-blackrock-s-evy-hambro-says

This chart hard for me to read on a phone. It would get close with the 15 percent ratio but then silver is more in demand and will continue to be so unless someone finds a 100 years mother load supply the price will continue to rise with the demand for generations to come.

https://x.com/NorthstarCharts/status/1978836969380577716

Does anyone remember this Jim. A gold trader from the beginning. He has a 5 minute story of when he was trading gold back in 1970s riding it up to the top in 1980.  Click on the video on X.

https://x.com/LukeGromen/status/1979554159390294384

….and the XAU/Gold closed Friday just under 7.0!!

That’s what I was thinking too. Not just that but the growing demand for silver which is not elastic is much more than in the past and now for AI too which is also growing along with energy needs.

Instead of leaving it up in the air going with the current levels rounded, 4111 US at 32.1 it should be 128. But with growing demand there’s the chance it could hit the lower ratio of 1980 and double that.

But then we have Sinclair’s gold numbers too.

While others debate chart patterns and momentum indicators, the most reliable metric in precious metals history is screaming that silver’s explosive rally is just the warm-up act.

H/T CHART BY CRESCAT CAPITAL

Silver has never been viewed as overvalued with the gold-to-silver ratio still sitting at 84:1.

At its two previous bull market highs in 1980 and 2011, the ratio dropped to lows of about 15:1 and 32:1 respectively. It was previously set at 15:1 in 1972. So that range of 15:1 to 32:1 represents silver getting overvalued relative to gold.

Currently sitting near 84:1, silver has never been viewed as overvalued at this level.

The math is simple and the message is clear: silver has a long way to go in this bull cycle still.

The Ratio That Never Lies

The gold-to-silver ratio is the most honest indicator in precious metals markets. Unlike price charts that can be manipulated by paper derivatives or technical indicators that can give false signals, the ratio simply tells you how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold. It’s pure math, and mathematics doesn’t lie.

At 84:1, the current ratio is telling us that silver remains historically cheap relative to gold. This isn’t a matter of opinion or interpretation; it’s objective mathematical reality.

When silver was truly overvalued in previous bull markets, the ratio compressed to levels between 15:1 and 32:1. We’re not even close to those levels, which means silver’s explosive rally from just below $20 to just over $50, and the current settling in around $48, is only the beginning of a much larger move yet to come.

The top chart makes this crystal clear. Every time the ratio has been at or above the current 84:1, silver has been historically undervalued. Every time it’s dropped below 30:1, silver has been overvalued.

We’re currently in the “silver historically undervalued” zone, which means the recent surge past $50 isn’t the end of the story; it’s the opening chapter.

The Northstar
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/889452/