Hang on to that tatty old pair of jeans lying around – one day Levi Strauss may just pay a fortune for them, writes Mark Tran in New York
IT may seem excessive to pay $25 000 for a tatty pair of jeans, but the pair in question are no ordinary Levi’s. They date back to 1886 and are believed to be one of the two oldest pairs left.
They were discovered last November in an inactive coal mine in Colorado and sold for $10 000 to someone who trades in old jeans.
He sold them to another investor for $15 000, who trousered $20 000 by selling them to Seth Weisser and Gerard Maione, owners of a store called, appropriately enough, What Comes Around Goes Around, in SoHo, Manhattan.
Weisser, who became interested in denim as a collector’s item after opening the shop four years ago, contacted Levi Strauss in San Francisco. “I called Levi’s and overnighted them pictures. They seemed overwhelmed and would have paid $40 000,” he said.
Levi’s has its own museum and Lynn Downey, the company historian did not hesitate. “I knew this would be a treasure that everyone in the company would want us to have, so there was no question of not paying one of the highest sums ever for a pair of old jeans,” she said.
The company has another pair almost as old, but in poor condition. Apart from a hole in the left pocket and frayed edges at the turn-ups, the jeans are in remarkably good condition for their age.
Downey was able to date them by the leather patch added in 1886 and the single back pocket. A second pocket was added in 1902.
“One reason these jeans are so important is that we lost everything in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the first 50 years of our history were destroyed,” she said.