Vintage collectibles can be worth quite a pretty penny, and vintage T-shirts are no exception. T-shirts from the 1980s and 1990s, especially band T-shirts and ones from movie promos, are back in style.
Their value has grown with their popularity, and these shirts are some of the most valuable tees ever sold.
Price: $1,500
Bottom line: This vintage tee was from a promo of "The Iron Giant," an animated sci-fi film produced by Warner Bros in 1999. The seller stored the tee and its matching hat in sealed plastic bags for over two decades, so they were essentially brand-new at the time of sale.
They were also (supposedly) less than 25 shirts made, originally intended for cast members only.
Price: $1,600
Bottom line: Fleetwood Mac has sold over 120 million records to date. It should come as no surprise that their retro merch is worth a lot.
This vintage tee was clearly worn, but even with some discoloration, it went for well over a grand on eBay.
Price: $1,691.61
Bottom line: Kurt Cobain's death was a tragedy, but his angst-inspired compositions are immortal. This rare T-shirt is an anomaly: On the front, in small print next alongside the photo, the text reads: 1995, the end of music, while on the back, the year 1993 is printed.
It's unclear whether that was a misprint, or whether the 1993 date is referencing the year the lyrics printed on the shirt were written. Either way, the shirt was worth a bucketload.
Price: $1,721.77
Bottom line: This old T-shirt featuring anime characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion was made in 1998. Like most vintage graphic tees, it's not perfect. The printed graphics are cracking, and the dye is faded but other than that, it was in great condition.
Looks like washing your clothes with care pays off.
Price: $1,779.97
Bottom line: In case you live under a rock, the Grateful Dead was an American rock band that formed in the mid-1960s in California. Its eclectic style, spearheading the jam band movement, inspired a devoted fanbase who dubbed themselves "Deadheads."
Their aesthetic matched their sound, and this Black Panther tee didn't stray far from their norm. It was from a one-time event, however, when the Grateful Dead performed at a Black Panther benefit in Oakland, California, in 1971. The group was apolitical, but they hit it off with one of the group's leaders and were happy to participate. This T-shirt is a remake of the original, but even the 1994 print is a valuable vintage.