5 centuries of bubbles and bursts

History is replete with financial frenzies that seem ridiculous in hindsight, but were viewed as anything but at the time.

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1974-80: Gold Rush II
As inflation soared - and as U.S. households were allowed to invest in gold for the first time since the Great Depression - prices skyrocketed from around $100 an ounce in 1974 to $850 by 1980. They would then collapse for the next quarter-century.

NEXT: 1980-84: PCs
Last updated January 06 2010: 5:25 PM ET
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