1966-67 “Big E” Levi’s 501 | Rare Model

The 1966 Levi 501 in recent times has become one of the most sought after re-pro’ed jean due to its ‘slim fitting’ design. The 1966 model is most commonly known as the successor of the early 60’s 501 XX where the hidden rivets in the back pockets were dropped for bartacks in early 1966.

The original owner of this pair back in 1967 bought them in what was known as a US Army ’P-X store’ - in West Berlin, Germany. There are a couple of little details only seen on certain 501’s between 1966-68 that make this pair very rare.

As mentioned, this is the first pair of 501’s without the infamous ‘XX’ and instead as you can see, a smaller ‘501’ was placed above the lot number which was done only until 1968 where various other codes/numbers where used.

Another thing about this model is the distinctively bright yellow chain stitching used on the waist band.

V-Stitch (pre-1969)

Buttons stamped ‘L’