Denim is a wardrobe essential and a good pair of jeans is an investment worth making. At the Durango Vintage Festivus denim auction, over a thousand pounds of denim were showcased and sent home to the highest bidders. Yet, in those mountain high piles of cool and unique pieces, a pair of 1880s Levi’s buckle back jeans made the auction memorable.
Like a few of the jeans sourced for the auction, these Levi’s buckle back was discovered in an abandoned mine. Its humble beginnings did not alter the opening bidding price of $28,000 nor the final selling price of $76,000. A hefty price tag split by Golden State Vintage for 90%, with the remaining 10% going to Zip Stevenson of Hollywood Trading Company.
It’s unknown just how long the jeans had been neglected in that abandoned mine, nor who the original owner was, but the jeans arrived in pretty good condition despite being over 140 years old. These may be the oldest pair of Levi’s jeans to ever sell at a live auction.