$5 Blue Jeans Sold For $3,500 To Levi’s Broker

Levi Strauss, who made his blue jeans cheap and durable for gold rush miners, would be amazed by what a pair sold for in Boise.

Flora Martinez, owner of an Ontario, Ore., military surplus store, deals in old Levi’s, so she had an idea the old jeans she bought at a yard sale for $5 would command more.

The denim pants - still in good shape after seven decades - resold for $3,500 to Junkyard Jeans in Boise, and they probably will command thousands more by the time they reach their end destination, a collector in Thailand.

“I knew they were worth more than a few hundred dollars, but not this much,” Martinez said.

Roderick Munoz, owner of Junkyard Jeans, was happy to pay the premium price.

“There is no end to my demand, which is mostly overseas. Clients are willing to spend up to $10,000,” Munoz said. “There could be someone with Levi’s worth $20,000 dollars and they may not even know it.”

The most sought-after Levi’s are Belt Back made between 1910-1920, Big E made during the 1940s and 1950s, Single Stitch made in the 1960s and Red Line made in the 1970s. The prices range anywhere from $50 to $5,000.

Levi’s made before 1900 are worth $10,000 or more.