Most used denim jackets, including plenty that look old, sell for about $30-80. The ones worth real money are dated by a few small details, and the jump is steep: a Levi's 70506 trucker from the 1980s or 1990s is about $40-120, a Big E Type III from the 1960s is about $300-1,500, a Type II 507XX from the 1950s is about $800-4,000, and a Type I 506XX from the 1940s with its single pocket and cinch back is about $2,000-10,000 and up as of late 2026. Lee and Wrangler follow the same shape: a 1970s Lee or Wrangler is $40-150, a 1950s Lee 101-J or a Blue Bell Wrangler 11MJ is several hundred to a few thousand. The jacket's pocket count, the tab, the label and the buttons tell you which bucket you are in within a minute.
So before you look at the fade, count the chest pockets, read the red tab, turn out the collar to find the label, and look at the back of a button. Together they place almost any denim jacket to within a few years. If they all point to the 1980s or later, it is a good jacket rather than a collector's piece, and that is the common case.
Quick answer
- One chest pocket, pleats, a cinch back: Levi's Type I, 1936-1952, about $2,000-10,000.
- Two pockets with pleats, no cinch, side tabs: Type II, 1953-1962, about $800-4,000.
- Pointed pocket flaps, V stitching, capital E on the red tab: Type III Big E, 1962-1971, about $300-1,500.
- Small e tab, care label, 70506 or 71506: 1972 onward, about $40-200.
How to date a Levi's denim jacket, step by step
- Count the pockets and look for pleats. One flapped chest pocket on the left, with a knife pleat on either side of the placket and a buckle-back cinch at the waist, is a Type I, model 506XX, made from 1936 until 1952. Two chest pockets with the same pleats, no cinch, and small adjustable tabs with buckles at the sides are a Type II, model 507XX, 1953 to 1962. Two pockets with pointed flaps, no pleats, and a V of stitching running from each pocket to the waistband are a Type III, the trucker, from 1962 onward.
- Read the red tab. On the left chest pocket, a red tab with LEVI'S in all capital letters, the Big E, means 1971 or earlier. A tab with Levi's and a small e means 1972 onward. A tab with the lettering on one side only is earlier than a tab printed both sides, which started around 1954. Reproduction lines, including Levi's Vintage Clothing, use a Big E too, so the tab alone is not the whole answer.
- Find the label and the lot number. Inside the collar, a leather or paper patch on earlier jackets and a woven label from the 1950s onward carries the lot number. 506XX is Type I, 507XX is Type II, 557XX is the first Type III from 1962 to 1967, 70505 is the Type III from 1967 with a slightly longer body, and 70506 and 71506 are the 1970s to 2000s truckers. A 557XX or a 70505 with a Big E is the sweet spot for most finds. A care tag sewn into a side seam means 1971 or later; no care tag on a jacket that otherwise looks right means earlier.
- Turn a button over. Early Levi's jacket buttons are stamped with a small number on the back, such as 17, 6 or 2, and the donut shape with a hole in the center appears on 1950s and 1960s pieces. A back marked with a modern long number or no stamp points to the 1980s onward.
- Check where it was made. Made in USA on the label and the care tag runs until Levi's closed its last US plants in 2003. A 1990s US-made 70506 is worth about $50-120; the same jacket made in Mexico or Asia is about $30-60.
- Look at the denim and the hardware for wear and alterations. Replaced buttons, shortened sleeves, patches and a torn-out tab all cut the price. Honest wear and fade add to it for jackets from the 1970s and earlier; a Type III with a lived-in fade and no holes outsells a stiff one.
- Compare with the jeans logic. The same tab, label and button rules date the pants; our guide to vintage Levi's jeans value walks through them in detail.
Levi's jacket values by type and era
Prices are what jackets actually sell for between collectors, at vintage dealers and on resale platforms as of late 2026, in wearable sizes, 38 to 44 chest, with honest wear and no major damage. Very small and very large sizes sell for less unless the jacket is early.
| Jacket | Lot | Years | Tells | Typical value, about |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type I | 506XX | 1936-1952 | One pocket, pleats, cinch back, leather patch early | $2,000-10,000, exceptional 1930s and 1940s pieces far more |
| Type I, post-war | 506XX | 1947-1952 | Same, with the two-horse leather patch and tab on one side | $1,500-6,000 |
| Type II | 507XX | 1953-1962 | Two pockets, pleats, side tabs | $800-4,000 |
| Type III, early | 557XX | 1962-1967 | Pointed flaps, V stitching, Big E, shorter body | $500-1,500 |
| Type III | 70505 Big E | 1967-1971 | Same, longer body, Big E | $250-700 |
| Type III | 70505 small e | 1972-1979 | Small e, care tag, often no hand pockets | $100-300 |
| Type III | 70506 | 1980s-1990s | Hand warmer pockets, US made | $50-150 |
| Type III | 70506 and 71506 | 2000s | Often made outside the US | $30-70 |
| Blanket lined trucker | 70506 lined | 1970s-1990s | Plaid or sherpa lining | $60-200 |
| Levi's Vintage Clothing repro | 506XX, 507XX, 557XX | 1999 onward | Big E, selvedge, but modern care labels and sizing | $150-500 |
The early Type I and Type II jackets with original buttons, intact tab and no repairs are the ones that reach five figures at auction; one with replaced buttons, cut sleeves or a missing tab drops to a quarter or less. Dark, unworn examples of the 1960s 557XX are scarce and pay a premium over faded ones; for later jackets, a good even fade is the selling point.
Lee and Wrangler: the other two that matter
Lee made the 91-J in the 1930s, then the 101-J Rider from the 1940s with a zipper on early versions and a button front later, and the Storm Rider, a blanket lined 101-J with a corduroy collar, from the 1950s. Wrangler's parent, Blue Bell, introduced the 11MJ jacket in 1947 with Rodeo Ben's western cut, followed by the 24MJ in the 1950s and the 124MJ, the common Wrangler jacket, from the 1960s onward. Both brands used Sanforized tags, union labels and a few typeface changes that place a jacket within a decade.
| Jacket | Years | Tells | Typical value, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee 91-J | 1930s | Short body, early Lee label, sometimes a zipper | $1,500-5,000 |
| Lee 101-J Rider, hair-on-hide label | 1940s-1950s | Leather patch with a hairy hide look, black Lee tag, Union Made | $400-1,500 |
| Lee 101-J, black and gold Lee tag | 1950s-1960s | Woven black tag, Sanforized, no care tag | $200-600 |
| Lee Storm Rider, early | 1950s-1960s | Blanket lining, corduroy collar, black tag | $200-700 |
| Lee Storm Rider | 1970s-1980s | Blue Lee tag, care label, Made in USA | $60-200 |
| Lee 101-J or 220 | 1970s-1990s | Blue tag, care label | $40-120 |
| Wrangler 11MJ Blue Bell | 1947-early 1950s | Blue Bell label, pleated front, early snaps | $700-3,000 |
| Wrangler 24MJ Blue Bell | 1950s-early 1960s | Blue Bell label, two pockets, pleats | $300-1,000 |
| Wrangler 124MJ, Blue Bell era | 1960s | Blue Bell on label, Sanforized | $100-350 |
| Wrangler 124MJ | 1970s-1990s | Wrangler label, care tag, Made in USA | $40-120 |
| Store and work brands | 1960s-1980s | Sears Roebucks, JCPenney Foremost, Big Mac, Key, Maverick | $40-200 |
Store brands are a pleasant surprise more often than people expect: a 1960s Sears Roebucks or JCPenney jacket with a buckle back or pleats is wanted by the same buyers who want early Levi's, at a tenth of the price. For work jackets with the same buyers, our guide to vintage Carhartt value covers the duck canvas side.
Reproductions and how to spot them
Levi's Vintage Clothing, Lee Archives, Wrangler's own heritage reissues and Japanese brands such as Warehouse, Sugar Cane and Full Count reproduce the Type I, Type II and 101-J closely, down to the Big E, the pleats and the cinch. They are good jackets and sell for about $150-500 used, but they are not the vintage article. The tells are the care label, which a 1950s jacket never had, modern size labelling in letters or a long numeric code, a made in Japan or Turkey line, extremely consistent stitching, and denim that is heavier and more uniform than period denim. A jacket with a Big E and a care label is either a 1971 crossover or a reproduction, and the care label text decides.
Common mistakes
- Reading every Big E as a 1960s jacket. Reproductions carry a Big E. Check for a care label and the lot number before pricing.
- Replacing buttons or fixing a torn tab before selling. Collectors want original hardware; a professional repair with period parts is fine, a hardware store button is not.
- Washing a stiff dark jacket to soften it. Unwashed early jackets are worth more than washed ones.
- Assuming a cinch back means 1930s. Lee and store brands used cinches into the 1960s, and LVC uses them now.
- Pricing by fade alone. A beautifully faded 1990s 70506 is still a $100 jacket; a stiff 557XX is a $1,000 jacket.
- Mistaking a 70505 for a 557XX. The lot number is on the label; the 70505 has a longer body and ran from 1967.
What to photograph
- The whole jacket front and back on a hanger or flat, in daylight.
- The red tab close up, so the lettering and whether it is printed on both sides are clear.
- The inside collar label and any paper or leather patch, straight on and in focus, with the lot number readable.
- The care tag in the side seam, if there is one, with the text legible; its absence is also worth a photo of the seam.
- The back of one button and the front of one.
- The pocket area, showing flaps, pleats or V stitching, and the waistband with any cinch or side tabs.
- Any damage, repairs or replaced hardware.
How WorthPic reads denim jacket photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. Show it the front, the tab, the collar label, the care tag or the bare seam where one would be, and a button back, and it reads the pocket configuration, the pleats or V stitching, the capital or lowercase E, the lot number and label style, the care tag wording and country of origin, the button stamp, the denim weight and fade, and the condition of the hardware. From those it names the type and the production window and gives an honest value range for that jacket in that size and condition, with a note on which detail set the date. When a label is too worn to read, a button back is not shown, or the care tag is in shadow, it says so and asks for that photo rather than guessing between a 557XX and a 70505. It identifies and estimates. It does not vouch for a jacket or rule out a careful reproduction from photos alone, since LVC and Japanese repros are built to pass the same visual checks. For any Type I, Type II, early Lee or Blue Bell Wrangler, a vintage dealer who handles the jacket is what settles the date and the price.
When to get it looked at in person
- A vintage denim dealer who buys and sells early Levi's, Lee and Wrangler can date a jacket by hand in minutes, from the denim weight, the thread, the hardware and the stitching, and will give a buy price or a consignment estimate. For a Type I, Type II or 1940s Lee, this is the route. Expect a dealer to offer about 40-60 percent of retail when buying outright.
- A specialist auction house with a vintage denim or Americana department for the rarest pieces, especially Type I jackets with early patches and Blue Bell 11MJs, where the buyers are international.
- A vintage clothing show or fair, where several dealers can look at the same jacket on the same day.
For the T-shirts and workwear that usually sit in the same closet, vintage T-shirt worth money and vintage band T-shirt value use the same tag-first logic.