THERE'S GOLD IN THEM THAR' JEANS!

by Wayne Mattox

When news of the California Gold Rush reached Loeb "Levi" Strauss he wisely deduced that a fortune could be made by expanding his family dry good business, selling to cash-rich, merchandise-starved miners. In 1853, at age 24, Levi opened up his first waterfront store at 90 Sacramento Street, San Francisco. Business flourished. Commonly repeated stories about young Strauss fashioning durable pants for miners out of overstocked canvas are probably based on myth.

According to a press release, written by historian Lynn Downey on the Levi Strauss Company web page, the real story is quite simple. One of Strauss's customers was a Reno, Nevada tailor named Jacob Davis. Among Jacob's customers was a prospector named Alkali Ike who kept ripping the pockets of his pants, presumably from stuffing them with heavy gold nuggets. To strengthen his customer's trousers, Jacob utilized tough cotton twill and put metal rivets at points of strain: pocket corners, the crotch, etc.

The pants proved so exemplary, Jacob decided to take out a patent on the process. However, he had trouble scraping together the $68 he needed to file the papers. Jacob wrote to Levi to suggest that the two men hold the patent together. Levi, being an astute businessman, saw the potential for this new product, and agreed to the proposal. The two men received a patent on May 20, 1873. Within a very short time, all types of working men were buying up the innovative new clothing, and spreading the word.

Today's lesson is don't throw away that old pair of jeans in your attic. Beginning in the 1970's historic and popular interest gained considerable ground on artist merit concerning antiques. Today, a well-preserved, properly marketed 19th century pair of Levi's might fetch $50,000-$100,000. A 1940's Lee "Cowboy" brand denim jacket will bring approximately $6,000. A Levi jacket of the same period will fetch $5,000. A pair of never-washed 1930's Levi jeans complete with a "buckleback" is worth around $2,000. A mint pair of vintage "Blue Bell" Wranglers made late as the 1960's is worth around $100.

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