The jeans have been recovered from SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold
Over the centuries, countless famous artifacts have been discovered, providing us with a glimpse into how people lived before our time. The value of these historical artifacts increases with every passing year and that's the reason why they are sold at whopping prices. Speaking of which, a pair of work pants recovered from an 1857 shipwreck off the coast of North Carolina and described as the ''oldest known pair of jeans in the world'' have sold for 114, 000 US dollars( RS 94 lakhs), Metro reported.
The jeans have been recovered from SS Central America, known as the Ship of Gold, which had been traveling from Panama to New York in September 1857 when it sank in a hurricane with 425 people aboard, The New York Times reported. The pants were found in a trunk belonging to John Dement, a veteran of the Mexican-American War from Oregon.
According to Holabird Western American Collections, the white, heavy-duty miner's pants with a five-button fly, were among the 270 Gold Rush-era artifacts that were sold in Reno, Nevada last week. The item description reads as ''Pair of men's work pants recovered from the Dement trunk found at the S.S. Central America shipwreck. The five-button fly strongly suggests these were an early manufacture of work pants sold by Levi Strauss. The original color of the fabric is unknown, and the blacks and browns visible now are fugitive stains from the trunk and its other contents.''
There's now doubt and confusion if the white pair was actually manufactured by Levi Strauss, one of the oldest and most popular jeans manufacturers in the world. The discovered pair is 16 years older than Levi's. Notably, San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. made the first pair in 1873.
Some experts have said that some historical evidence suggests there are links to Mr Strauss. At the time, Mr Strauss was a wealthy dry goods wholesaler, and the white pants may have been an early design in their jean line. However, the company's historian and archive director, Tracey Panek, said any claims about their origin are "speculation," reported The New York Times.
After inspecting the pants, Ms. Panek said that while she was excited by the discovery, she saw nothing that would link the pants to Mr. Strauss.
"From the white color, lack of suspender buttons, five fly buttons instead of four, and the unusual fly design with extra side buttonholes, to the non-denim fabric that is a much lighter weight than cloth used by LS & Co. for its earliest riveted clothing, the Dement trunk pants are not typical of the miner's work pants in our archives," Ms. Panek told The New York Times.