Some 165-year-old recovered jeans from a shipwreck successfully sold for $95,000 in an auction. According to IFL Science, bids for the antique item were made during the Holabird Americana auction, along with other items found in the famous shipwreck.
Antique Jeans Thought To Be Made by Levi Strauss Back in 1857
According to Business Insider, some miners' pants were found in a shipwreck that dates back to 1857. Other things were sighted in this shipwreck, including items such as eyeglasses, pistols, and gold bars. These items were also included in the recent auction.
Though the jean's original color can no longer be distinguished, its fly of five buttons suggests that they were among the early items released by Levi Strauss. According to CBS News, these jeans could have been made by Strauss himself.
IFL Science notes that these pants could be the "million-dollar jeans," which refer to the heavy-duty working pants in the era of the Gold Rush. They may have been owned and used by military veteran John Dement who boarded the ship as a first-class rider.
The pair of jeans sold for a whopping $95,000 that night, excluding the additional fees of the auction house. In total, the price reached a booming $114,000.
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A Shipwreck in the 19th Century
The antique jeans were discovered within the sunken and run-down SS Central America, also labeled the Ship of Gold. IFL Science notes that the entire ship was a steamer worth 280 feet that operated during the 1850s between the East Coast of the US and Central America.
On the steamer's last trip, it left Panama (in present-day) and set its course to New york. The ship was boarded with hundreds of riders and cargo from California.
However, during its journey, the ship came across a strong hurricane. Eventually, with 30,000 pounds of cargo and around 425 passengers onboard, the ship sank on September 12, 1857. It was about 160 miles from South Carolina's shore.
It was only in the 1980s that the SS Central America shipwreck was sighted. It was discovered at the Atlantic's bottom.
According to a statement from President Fred Holabird of the Holabird Western Americana Collections, the SS Central America boarded tons of treasures from the Gold Rush era when it fell 7,200 feet into the deep Atlantic. The entire recovery of the shipwreck site occurred in various stages from 1988 to 1991. It also happened again in 2014.
Antique Levi's Jean Sell High
While a whopping number was paid to own this antique pair, it is not the first time for a fortune to buy Levi's jeans to be shelled. According to NBC Bay Area, an 1880s Levi's jeans got auctioned off for a whopping $76,000 last October. While this figure is smaller than the $95,000, it is still remarkable.
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