19th-century Levi's jeans found in abandoned mine sells for over P5 million at auction

Vintage denim with a hefty price tag, anyone? A pair of 1880s Levi's jeans was sold for over $87,000 (around P5 million) at an auction in New Mexico.

According to a report by CNN International, vintage denim market veteran Zip Stevenson and 23-year-old man Kyle Hautner got their hands on the 19th-century jeans that "denim archaeologist" Michael Harris discovered at an abandoned mine five years ago. Stevenson said that the latter "has looked in at least 50 abandoned mines for years and has not found a pair of equal quality."

Stevenson has been managing a denim repair shop in Los Angeles for almost 30 years, but it was his first time to come across a pair like this. 

"These jeans are extremely rare—especially in this fantastic worn condition and size," he said in a CNN interview.

“The pair are surprisingly durable, so they definitely can be worn. 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,” he added. 

Headed by vintage denim expert Brit Eaton, the four-day auction took place at the Durango Vintage Festivus. Eaton explained that he didn’t initially plan to put the item up for sale, but he later realized how fun it could be to highlight vintage jeans at an auction and "see them sell live to floor bidders."

"I've been doing this business for a quarter of a century and the average vintage jeans are worth about $100 (almost P6,000). So to find a pair this valuable is once in a lifetime,” he said. 

The pair of denim jeans is now considered one of the most expensive pairs of denim ever sold, including a buyer's premium of 15%. Hautner paid 90% of the total price, while Stevenson covered the rest.

Aside from "offering them for sale to an extremely interested private buyer," the new owners are also looking into the idea of having them showcased at a museum like the Smithsonian or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

For now, the vintage pants are stored in a deposit box near Stevenson's Denim Doctors store in Los Angeles. They can be viewed by the public via appointment or reservation.