Does silver have stamina?

Silver closed at over $40 an ounce in New York trading last Friday for the first time since 1980.

If you wonder how long it can stay that high you can start by comparing it to its performance in 1980.

For only six days did the precious metal close above that nice round number.

The first day it did so was Jan. 14, 1980, a Monday, when it closed at $42.50, up $3.75 from the day before.

The next day it jumped by another $3.80 to close at $46.30. Then it backed off by 60 cents to close at $45.70 on Jan. 16.

On Jan. 17, it rose $3 to the record closing high of $48.70.

On Friday, Jan. 18, the metal backed off $1.90 to close at $46.80.

Monday, Jan. 21, 1980, was the day that trading gave us the headline number of $50 a troy ounce. The metal went even higher, but it did not close there. By the end of trading it was at $44.

Jan. 22 it was at $34 and by March 27 it was at $10.80.

If silver closes above $40 today and tomorrow, it will tie its over-$40 performance in 1980.

Then what?