Levi’s Lot 213 Jacket and Lot 201 Jeans: Original or Reissue, and Where to Sell Them

If you have a Levi’s 213 jacket and a pair of 201 jeans, you have the two halves of what Levi’s sold to working men who could not afford its best. Levi Strauss and Co made two grades of riveted work clothes: the premium XX line, which gave us the 501 jeans and the 506XX Type 1 jacket, and a cheaper No. 2 line, which gave us the 201 jeans and the 213 jacket. An original pair or jacket that made it through a century of hard work is a survivor, and collectors chase them for exactly that reason. Levi’s has also reissued the 201 and 213 several times, most recently as a matching set in 2025, so the first job is to find out which one you are holding.

What is the Levi’s 201?

The 201, first called the No. 2, was Levi’s value version of the 501. Levi’s own historian dates it to about 1890, from a company note of June 13, 1890 that offers a sample of “No. 2 riveted overalls” at $7.00 a dozen as an article lately put on the market. Levi’s says the 201 was cut from denim made by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in New Hampshire rather than the XX denim of the 501, carried a cloth label in place of the leather patch, and had cheaper buttons, but kept the copper rivets in all the right places. Levi’s says it was discontinued around World War II, once the 501 had taken over. Like the 501 of the same years, an early 201 has a cinch at the back of the waist and buttons for suspenders.

What is the Levi’s 213 jacket?

The Lot 213 is the jacket of the same No. 2 line: Levi’s describes it as an affordable take on the Type 1 jacket, made from second-grade denim, and its Vintage Clothing team calls it the 1920s budget counterpart to the Type 1. The 213 was originally called a blouse, as Levi’s early denim jackets were. It follows the pattern of the 506XX Type 1, which Levi’s introduced in 1905: Levi’s 2025 reissue, which it says mirrors the original, has a pleated front, a single chest pocket, copper rivets, and a cinch at the back. An original from the 1920s has no red tab; Levi’s did not put the tab on its jackets until 1936.

Is my 213 jacket or 201 jeans an original or a reissue?

Check before you decide either way. Levi’s Vintage Clothing has made the 201 and the 213 more than once: 201 and 201XX jeans from its Valencia Street plant in San Francisco in the 1990s, a 1920s 213 jacket from the same plant around 2000, a numbered 1915 201 in its Vault series, and in March 2025 a matching 1920s Lot 201 jeans and Lot 213 jacket made from Japanese selvedge denim. On October 27, 2026, every 213 and 201 we found listed on eBay was one of these, which is exactly why a true original is such a find. Read the inside, not the outside, because the reissues copy the outside closely.

If every check points the same way, you have your answer. If the outside looks a hundred years old and the inside carries a printed label, it is a reissue that has been worn hard, which is what many owners did with them, and it still sells for hundreds. But if you find no label at all, period buttons, and the kind of wear only decades of real work leave, you may be holding one of the rarest Levi’s jackets or pairs anyone will ever see. Do not wash it, do not list it, and call us first: an original 213 or 201 is exactly the piece we most hope to hear about, and we will tell you what you have, free, the same day. The reproduction guide covers more of the tells.

What is a Levi’s 213 jacket or 201 worth?

A word on those numbers. We could not read sold prices for these lots, so every reissue figure above is what sellers were asking on October 27, 2026, not what buyers paid, and asks run higher than sales. We give no range for originals, and not because they are worth little. They turn up so rarely that there is no market to read, and a number pulled from thin air would sell yours short. For a sense of the company an original keeps: worn originals of its premium sibling, the 506XX Type 1, typically brought $2,000 to $8,000 as of August 2026, as the Type 1 guide explains. A 213 is its own jacket and is valued on its own merits, one at a time, by someone who has handled these and knows what they are looking at. That is a conversation we would be glad to have.

Is a matching 213 and 201 set worth more together?

Sell them together if you can. Levi’s released the 2025 jacket and jeans as a pair, and a buyer who wants one usually wants the other in the same size and wear. That said, each piece is priced on its own merits first: era, size, condition, and whether the labels and buttons are all there. A set with one original piece and one reissue happens, and each half is valued for what it is.

Should I wash or repair them before selling?

No. Leave the fades, the wear, and the original hems alone. A hot wash can shrink rigid denim and change the color for good, and a repair or a new hem takes away originality buyers pay for. On an unworn reissue, keep the paper tags, the numbered label, and any bag or box; they are part of the price.

The mistakes that cost money

• Underselling an original. A 213 or 201 with no label inside is not just an old jacket or an old pair of jeans; it may be a century-old survivor of a line Levi’s stopped making around World War II. Never sell one on a guess, in a bundle, or by the pound.
• Calling a reissue an original. A Levi’s Vintage Clothing 213 or 201 with a 555 button and a printed label is a reissue, and buyers will see it in the first photo.
• The opposite mistake: assuming a reissue is worthless. Worn and unworn reissues were listed at hundreds of dollars on October 27, 2026.
• Cutting out the labels. The inside label is how a buyer tells which run you have, and the numbered label on the 2025 set is part of its value.
• Splitting a set without asking. A matching jacket and jeans in one size are easier to sell together.
• Pricing an original from a reissue listing, or a reissue from an original’s story. They are different garments with different buyers.
• Trading them in for a gift card. Checked in August 2026, Levi’s SecondHand pays up to $30 in store credit for vintage jeans in store, whatever the pair is.

Where can I sell a Levi’s 213 jacket or 201 jeans?

You have real options. Listing them yourself on eBay or Grailed usually brings the most if you photograph the inside labels well and answer questions, after fees and shipping; the route comparison sets out each platform’s cut. Vintage shops pay less but pay at once. California Vintage Buyers buys old Levi’s jackets from every state, 213 jackets and 201 jeans included, originals and reissues, sets or single pieces: we look at them together on a free video call, agree the price on the call, and pay through PayPal before you ship, with shipping on us. In Southern California we come to you and pay cash the same visit. If a piece is worth more listed yourself, we will say so. Start with the photo guide, then call or text (949) 449-1255.