News
The Oldest 5-Button Gold Rush Jeans
Mar
Finest Known’s Historic Acquisition, Attributed to Levi Strauss
Finest Known has purchased the earliest known pair of five-button fly, heavy-duty work pants, most likely made by or for Levi Strauss & Company in the 1850s, at the height of the California Gold Rush.
These Pants Are Exceptionally Significant
These California Gold Rush Miner’s pants went down with the SS Central America off the Carolina coast during a hurricane in September 1857 and are remarkably well-preserved, with a story to tell.
This pair of men’s work pants were recovered from the Dement trunk found in the debris field at the shipwreck recovery site.
These pants appear new, probably bought in San Francisco by John Dement, a veteran of the Mexican-American War from Oregon.
These historic Miner Pants were entombed for more than a century in the Dement Trunk 7,200 feet below the surface of the Deep Blue Sea, and are now owned by Finest Known, LLC.
Very little was known of the very important Levi Strauss Company in the 1850s until now, and we are still learning more today. These historic pants so closely resemble the Levi’s of today in so many ways that it seems highly improbable that they came from anywhere else.
The Oldest 5-Button Fly Jeans In History
The five-button fly strongly suggests these were an early manufacture of work pants sold by Levi Strauss in the 1850s. The five-button fly is nearly identical, if not technically identical, to the LEVIS of today, inclusive of the exact style, shape, and size of the buttons themselves.
California Gold Rush Miner pants most likely made by Levi Strauss seen in a warehouse in Sparks NV before the Final Auction of “THE SHIP OF GOLD,” the Greatest Treasure Ever Found.
The “Treasure” Jeans first went on display at the 2022 World’s Fair of Money near Chicago, by the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in August 2022, and was featured in “The Ship of Gold” exhibit.
Part One of the final auction of never-before-offered, historic California Gold Rush artifacts recovered from the 1857 sinking of the fabled “Ship of Gold,” the S.S. Central America, was held on December 3, 2022, in Reno, Nevada, and online by Holabird Western Americana Collections.
Finest Known Won The Bidding!
Finest Known’s President, Adam Crum, trying on his new California Gold Rush “Levis” style 5-Button white Jeans which has over a century of deep ocean patina “tie-die” effect on the canvas from the 134 years folded in the Dement Trunk, 7,200 feet under the ocean… Making for a very unique toning of the pants fabric today.
Looks Like a Good Fit!
These one-of-a-kind historic pants are now available for sale at the link below.
Shop The Ship of Gold
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SSCA DVD$7.50 -
1857 est .50 gram CAL GOLD RUSH SSCA GOLD NUGGETS – Includes SSCA Redbook NGC Cal Gold$99.00
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1853-1856 SANTIAGO 50 CENTAVO SSCA CHILEAN PASSENGER COIN HOARD NGC-EVANS COA SHIPWRECK$225.00
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1857 $1 SSCA 1.5 Gram Nugget Treasure Package PCGS Genuine$229.00
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1853-1856 SANTIAGO 1 PESO NGC-EVANS COA SHIPWRECK$325.00
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1843 O $2.50 LIBERTY GOLD SSCA-2 F12$3,000.00
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1843 O $2.50 LIBERTY GOLD SSCA-2 VF30$3,500.00
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1853 $1 TYPE I GOLD SSCA-2 MS61$3,750.00
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1843 $2.50 GOLD LIBERTY SSCA-2 XF40$3,750.00
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1852 $2.50 GOLD LIBERTY SSCA-2 AU58$3,750.00
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1847 0 $2.50 LIBERTY GOLD SSCA-2 VF35$3,750.00
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1851 O $2.50 GOLD LIBERTY SSCA-2 VF25$3,750.00
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No Date 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-221 SSCA-2 MS62$3,950.00
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1853 $1 TYPE I GOLD SSCA-2 MS63$3,975.00
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1850 $2.50 LIBERTY GOLD SSCA-2 XF40$3,975.00
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No Date 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-224 SSCA-2 MS62$4,000.00
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1853 50 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-430 SSCA-2 MS61$4,500.00
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1856 25 CENT CAL FRAC – BG-229 SSCA-2 MS64PL$5,000.00
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1856 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-111 SSCA-2 MS64+PL$5,000.00
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1853 50 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-430 SSCA-2 MS64$5,000.00
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1856 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-107 SSCA-2 MS63PL$6,000.00
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1856 25 CENT CAL FRAC – BG-229 SSCA-2 MS65PL$6,500.00
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1856 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-111 SSCA-2 MS65PL$6,500.00
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1854 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-216 SSCA-2 MS63$6,750.00
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1856 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-107 SSCA-2 MS64$7,000.00
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1856 25 CENT CAL FRAC – BG-229 SSCA-2 MS65+PL$7,500.00
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1856 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRAC – BG-229 SSCA-2 MS66$7,500.00
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1856 25 CENT CAL FRAC – BG-229 SSCA-2 MS66+$8,000.00
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1856 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-111 SSCA-2 MS66PL$8,500.00
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1855 50 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-406 SSCA-2 MS64+$8,750.00
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1856 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-111 SSCA-2 MS66+PL$9,000.00
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1855 S $5 NO MOTTO GOLD LIBERTY PCGS-SSCA-2 AU55$9,000.00
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1854 50 CENT TER SSCA-2 MS63+PL$9,500.00
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1856 25 CENT CAL FRAC – BG-229 SSCA-2 MS66PL$9,750.00
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1856 50 CENT CAL FRAC – BG-307 SSCA-2 MS66$12,500.00
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1854 50 CENT CAL FRAC BG-431 SSCA-2 MS66$13,500.00
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MEN’S WORK PANTS, FIVE BUTTON, RECOVERED JOHN DEMENT TRUNK – LEVI STRAUSS COMPANY WAS FOUNDED IN 1853 – THE CO. WAS A MAJOR DISTRIBUTOR AND MANUFACTURER OF JEANS (WORK PANTS) IN THE EARLY DAYS OF CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH$250,000.00
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1857 $561.64 Justh & Hunter #4333 SSCA 30.70 OUNCES$150,000.00
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1857 $235.22 KELLOGG & HUMBERT #654 13.14 .866 FINE$112,500.00
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1856 GOLD 25C CAL FRACTIONAL BG-111 SSCA-2 MS68PL$50,000.00
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1857 S $5 GOLD NO MOTTO LIBERTY PCGS-SSCA-2 MS63$30,000.00
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1856 S TYPE I $20 GOLD DEL PCGS-SSCA MS63$22,500.00
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1856 50 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-434 SSCA-2 MS67+PL$20,000.00
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1856 50 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-434 SSCA-2 MS67PL$18,000.00
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1856 25 CENT GOLD CAL FRACTIONAL BG-111 SSCA-2 MS67+PL$17,500.00
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1857 5 oz. Union SSCA Gold Dust Package PCGS 5 OUNCE$17,500.00
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1855 $5 NO MOTTO GOLD LIBERTY PCGS-SSCA-2 MS63$15,000.00
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1852 $20 GOLD TYPE I LIBERTY PCGS-SSCA-2 MS61$15,000.00
