JAKARTA - Levi's jeans from the 1880s sold out in auctions in a small town in New Mexico, for more than US$87.000 or around Rp.1.3 billion.
Jeans, discovered by 'archaeologist denim' in this abandoned mine, was purchased by Kyle Hautner and Zip Stevenson, a vintage denim market veteran.
"We have no plans to buy jeans together until the auction starts, which is a bit crazy to look back," Stevenson told CNN.
The Jeans sells for $87,400, one of the highest prices ever paid for jeans.
Stevenson, who has been running a denim workshop in Los Angeles for nearly three decades, said he had never found anything like this.
"This type is very rare, especially in conditions and measures like this," he told CNN.
Stevenson first heard of the jeans about five years ago, when it was first discovered in West America by Michael Harris, who had searched at least 50 mines left behind for five years and had not found the same quality jeans, according to Stevenson.
There are only a few similar jeans available, but they are stored in museums and too fine to wear.
"But these jeans are very durable, so they can definitely be worn. There are some'soft points' on the jeans that can use a little booster, but besides that, the jeans are super-solid," he said.
"I can easily imagine Johnny Depp or Jason Momoa wearing it," continued Stevenson.
The auction was held at Durango Vintage Festivus on the outskirts of the small Aztec city. The four-day festival was held by Vintage Brit Eaton denimologists, who described finding items like these as total addiction.
"I've been doing this business for a quarter century and jeans vintage is worth an average of about 100 US dollars. So, finding this valuable pair of jeans is once in a lifetime," explained Eaton.
Eaton said he initially had no intention of selling jeans. That's why he respects these jeans at a very high price.
Stevenson said that although he was considering reselling the jeans, he hoped the jeans could be displayed at the museum.
"We will consider offering it for sale to private buyers who are very interested," he said, but added that the owner prefers the jeans to be bought and displayed at museums, such as the Museum of Art Metropolitan.
For now, the jeans are stored in a safe near the Doctor Denim Stevenson store in Los Angeles. If anyone wants to see, they can make an appointment.
It is known, despite being an icon of Western America, jeans is also a witness to a dark episode in the country's history. The inner Saku is printed with the phrase "The only type made by White Workers."
The Wall Street Journal quoted a spokesman Levi's explaining that the company used this slogan after the introduction of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which prohibited Chinese workers from entering the US.
The WSJ reported that Levi's canceled this policy and slogan in the 1890s. The law was repealed in 1943.
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