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It may seem odd to some, but there has been an ongoing fascination with collecting and wearing old or vintage Levi's jeans and jackets for more than 30 years now.
Here at Beale International, we're always getting inquiries about an old pair that's been sitting in a box in the garage for the last 20 or 30 years. The truth is, vintage Levi's are super collectable. Individual pairs have been known to sell for anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Here at Beale International, not only do we offer the best prices of anyone we know for your grandfather's old pair of jeans, but we want to provide you with all of the information necessary to figure out whether you have a rare treasure or a pair that's best suited for the next Salvation Army donation box.
As with any collectable, condition is an important factor. New with tags is always considered the best. Worn with holes and stains is probably not going to be worth as much, but it always depends on the overall look of the piece, and it's age. Good dark color with a couple of small holes will be better than super faded with the same small holes. The other key issue in determining the value of a pair of vintage jeans is size. People want to collect the size that they actually wear. So often, we'll come across a great pair of vintage Big E jeans, but the size is waist 44 inches, and the length 34 inches, or waist 28 inches and length 29 inches. Pairs, such as these, are going to be far less valuable than waists 32-36 and lengths 30–32 inches. In other words, if you can imagine a bell shaped curve, the best sizes are going to be the sizes that the majority of people wear, and they're going to be worth the most money.
Here are some of the long kept secrets of the vintage Levi's collector, to help you to determine if your jeans are truly collectable.
1. Are they “Redlines?”
The most basic question that needs to be answered is, are they Redlines? In other words, do they have a selvage edge when you turn the cuff up at the bottom of the leg? Levi Strauss began manufacturing 501s in the 19th century. Every pair manufactured from the very beginning through to 1980 will have a selvage edge or a finished edge, instead of a stitched up edge.
2. Are they “Big Es?”
Unfortunately, just because they have the selvage edge, or Redline, that doesn't mean you have a national treasure. Although redlines are now fetching some respectable money too, the way it works with vintage Levi's and value is, the older, the better. Obviously, the jeans manufactured in the late 70s aren't going to be worth as much as jeans manufactured in the early 70s or 60s or 50s. In 1971 Levi Strauss switched the logo on their little red tab that is sewn onto the side of every right hip pocket. 501s (and other garments, for that matter) manufactured from 1971 on back will have a Capital E or big E. If your jeans are sporting a big E, they're going to be worth more than the jeans that have a little e. The same is true for the jackets.
3. Are they “Double X?”
From 1965 on back, Levi's 501s had rivets in the back pockets. Really old 501s from the 30s actually had rivets that looked exactly like the ones you see on the front pockets. In 1936 Levi Strauss introduced the “concealed rivet.” you can only see them if you look on the inside of the seat of a pair of these jeans. These rivets are a good thing when it comes to value. Collectors love them, and they are known as “Double X.”
Really, that's about all you need to know to date your jeans back to the early 60s and determine if they're worth trying to sell for big bucks. As you go further back in the pantheon of Levi's history, if your jeans have a leather patch instead of a paper patch, they're older, and probably worth more money. If your jeans have a little belt, or cinch on the back to adjust the waist size, they're even older still. If you're seeing suspender buttons at the waist, instead of belt loops, that's really old, and they probably date from the 1920s or earlier.