The so-called "men's work pants" can be seen to be a few years old. The colors are washed out, it has rusty brown spots and the fabric looks quite cracked and brittle. The color combination could be modern again these days - but in this case it is due to the ravages of time. The garment went under the hammer at an online auction in Reno, Nevada. It sold for $114,000.

The jeans are said to have belonged to a miner and are at least 165 years old. She was found in a suitcase, which in turn was recovered from a shipwreck. It sank off the coast of North Carolina in 1857. The SS Central was an 85-meter long steamer that brought passengers from Central America to the east coast. During a hurricane, the ship got into distress and sank. 425 people of the 578 passengers and crew members died in the accident. The ship went down with 21 tons of gold coins and other objects and was only discovered in 1988.

"The miner's jean is like the first flag on the moon, a historic moment in history," says Dwight Manley. He is a managing partner of the California Gold Marketing Group - the owners of the collection. According to auction officials, the five-button fly even suggests that the work pants are an earlier version of Levi Strauss jeans.

The suitcase that contained the trousers belonged to John Dement. He'd probably bought the pants in San Francisco. Levi Strauss made and patented the first pair of blue jeans in 1873. 16 years after the ship sank. When asked by the "BBC", a historian said that trousers with such a button placket were common in the 19th century - and that there should be no connection to Levi Strauss. Nor should they have been trousers for miners.

More items recovered from the shipwreck are set to be auctioned in February. Including passenger receipts, clothing and cutlery.

Sources:"Hola Bird America", "BBC"