A pair of Levi’s jeans from the 1880s recently sold for over $87,000 at an auction. The vintage jeans were unearthed in a mine shaft several years ago and are surprisingly in really good shape.
The jeans are faded and have a few holes and tears but “are surprisingly durable, so they definitely can be worn,” auction winner Zip Stevenson told CNN.
Stevenson paid for 10% of the winning bid, while the rest of $87,000 was paid for by his 23-year-old partner Kyle Haupert.
“There’s a couple of soft spots on the jeans that could use a bit of reinforcement, but otherwise, they’re super-duper solid jeans,” Stevenson said.
“I could easily imagine Johnny Depp or Jason Momoa wearing them,” he added.
The jeans also contain a bit of dark history. The words “The only kind made by White Labor” are printed on the inside pocket. A spokesperson from Levi’s told the Wall Street Journal the phrase was added to their jeans in 1882 after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese laborers from coming to the United States. Levi’s removed the slogan in the 1890s.
Stevenson said that he believes the jeans should end up in a museum, but for now, he is keeping them in a safe deposit box and will allow people to view them by appointment only.
