Some of Your Vintage Band Shirts Might Be Worth More Money Than You Think
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you have so many band shirts that you lost count years ago. However, according to SpreadShirt.com, some of your vintage band shirts might be worth a good chunk of change.
In a recent analysis from SpreadShirt.com of over 84,000 sales of band and music artist shirts, they determined 10 different tees worth from $1,200 to $2,750. Two Nirvana shirts made this top 10 list. Coming in at No. 10 is the band’s 1992 Sliver tour tee, which can sell for up to $1,200. The other Nirvana shirt, an In Utero tour tee, ranked at No. 2 and can sell for up to $2,000.
Other rock acts on this list were Metallica, whose 1996 Load tour tee was No. 9 on the list and can sell for up to $1,250. A 1993 Prince Untitled tour tee ranked at No. 7 and can sell for up to $1,299.
Soundgarden had a shirt come in at No. 5 on this list. The shirt in question is a 1989 Louder Than Love tour tee, which can sell for up to $1349.99.
Finally, the No. 1 t-shirt from SpreadShirt.com’s analysis is a 1994 Grateful Dead Panther tour tee, which can sell for up to $2,750.
Coincidently, the Grateful Dead made history in October 2021 thanks to the sale of one of their shirts. As previously reported, a vintage Dead shirt from 1967 holds the record for being the most expensive vintage rock shirt sold at auction. It sold for a whopping $17,640.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this Grateful Dead shirt “is believed to be among the first shirts mass-produced by the band, although in incredibly limited quantities.” The outlet also noted, “Designed by Hells Angel and graphic artist Allan “Gut” Terk, the simple yellow tee sold for nearly twice as much as a Led Zeppelin shirt from that band’s 1979 concerts at Knebworth, which previously held the record for selling for $10,000 in an eBay auction in 2011.”
Additionally, a second Dead shirt from the band’s 1977 show at Cornell University sold for $15,120 making it the second highest-selling vintage rock shirt to sell at auction.
