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ID helpv - Vintage big E selvedge Levi's (pre-1950?) found at rummage sale


jwied82

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went to a rummage sale tonight at a church in town here and came home with these:

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I did a little research on here and im guessin they are from about 1950 but i'm not sure.

The leather tag is missing, so that probably makes it harder to date them and also there are no tags on the inside. I thought maybe they are 1947s based on the details, but they look to be cut fuller than the 1947 501s. The red tab has LEVIS on only the outside, so i think this dates them to before 1950. Considering the source, i highly doubt they are fake or repros, but maybe they are.

Could the Levi's experts on here help me out and let me know what i have.

The denim is super nice and they arent all that faded, only gently worn... i can wear them on but the cut is way to full for me... should i try and sell them?

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get Paul T on this! They look too well preserved on the inside to be super-duper old... the lack of identifying tags makes it tough. I'd guess (in my amateur opinion) that they're from the late 50's if not 60's from the arcs. But the covered rivets is throwing me off a little bit.

Could they be repro samples from an outlet? I'm just shocked that there's no rust from the rivets on the pocket bags if they are truly as old as I think they are...

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yeah, i myself thought perhaps they are a repro because its hard to imagine them being so old. If they are originals, the red tab having LEVIS on only one side and not having the circled R on the tab indicates they are from about 1950 according to a chart i found on here.

the selvedge edge does look pretty faded... you can faintly see what might have been a red-line. its hard to see, but it definately isnt a plain white selvedge edge.

Also, the buttons on the fly show some discoloration, so they do show some signs of wear:

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Also just noticed a peculiar detail. 2 of the copper rivets are stamped, but the rest are plain:

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maybe the factory simply had some of each on hand and didnt worry about which ones were used?

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I'd guess (in my amateur opinion) that they're from the late 50's if not 60's from the arcs. But the covered rivets is throwing me off a little bit.

Didnt the rivets get removed much later than the 60s?

They gotta be from early 50s since the tag has LEVIS printed on only one side, lke u sed

no later than 55

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Thanks for the info.. so it sounds like they are from late 40s/early 50s... so an almost 60 year old pair of jeans! Now i just need to decide what to do with these... nice to have from a collectors item standpoint but i dont want them to just sit in my closet forever.

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Didnt the rivets get removed much later than the 60s?

They gotta be from early 50s since the tag has LEVIS printed on only one side, lke u sed

no later than 55

I was always under the impression that they switched to bartacks in the 66 501. At least, that's what a lot of repros have on their 66 repro...

In any case, HJJ seems to have provided an answer. Would love to see what Mr. Trynka has to say about these babies.

And jwied, aren't these guys around your size? you lucky duck, you could rock a pair of authentic vintage Levi's!!! Plus, it looks like all of the shrinking's out of the way, so no surprises... I'm sure they'll stretch a bit, though if I were in your position I would give them a gentle rinse just to get some of the dirt, etc. out of them so that they're not too brittle.

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I was always under the impression that they switched to bartacks in the 66 501. At least, that's what a lot of repros have on their 66 repro...

In any case, HJJ seems to have provided an answer. Would love to see what Mr. Trynka has to say about these babies.

And jwied, aren't these guys around your size? you lucky duck, you could rock a pair of authentic vintage Levi's!!! Plus, it looks like all of the shrinking's out of the way, so no surprises... I'm sure they'll stretch a bit, though if I were in your position I would give them a gentle rinse just to get some of the dirt, etc. out of them so that they're not too brittle.

yeah, i can put them on and button them up but they are pretty tight around my waist and too small to pull them down much. but a 10.5 inch rise and full cut legs isnt exactly a flattering look for me, and i'd be kinda afraid to alter them much.

And they dont really feel all that dirty or brittle, so i probably would just wear them as is if i decide to do that.

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i would agree with uinku, '48- '50, what an amazing find! how much if you dont mind were you able to pick these up for?

well, like i said, i got them from a rummage sale.. things at rummage sales never cost much. These happened to be sitting in with tables full of clothes that they sell for a quarter for a paper grocery bag full.

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yeah, they have a noticeable crease down the legs from storage... but it looks like they didnt really physically degrade from storage besides the leather tag, which may have been removed, but i think the leather just dry rotted in storage.

I took a pic of what is a small remnant of the waist tag:

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one detail that i particularly like on these is the fact that the copper rivets are not all the same. from what i gather from the pictoral timeline i found in another thread, some appear to be like on the 47s, and some like on the 55s, so i guess the factory simply had some older style rivets left and were using them too.

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i'm well aware that this is like a once in a lifetime thrift find. I used to go thrifting more often, and i always made a practice of looking through all the racks of jeans everytime i was in a goodwill or salvation army or wherever in the hopes of coming across some old levis or lee's or something like that, so its nice that i actually did.

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