To be fair it was was competing with the 10 yr bond at over 15% in 1981, or two doubles in those same 10 years. (That same $75 was returned as $300 with essentially no risk.) https://ycharts.com/indicators/10_year_treasury_rate#:~:text=Historically%2C the 10 Year treasury rate reached 15.84%,benchmark rates in an effort to contain inflation.