How to Date Levi’s Jeans by the Tag: Big E, Care Tag, Rivets and “Made in USA”

To date Levi’s jeans, read several clues and look for the era they agree on. A red Tab spelling LEVI’S in capitals (the Big E) means before 1971. A red line in the outseam selvedge means before about 1984. Back-pocket rivets hidden under the denim mean 1937 to 1966. A leather patch means before the late 1950s. No care tag points to before the 1970s, and a mainline “Made in USA” label to before 2004. Any single clue can be copied by a reissue; three that agree give you a reliable era.

Every date below comes from Levi Strauss & Co.’s own published history, not from collector folklore. Where collectors use a clue that Levi’s hasn’t documented, the guide says so.

At a glance: Levi’s dating clues and their dates

Clue	What you see	What it points to	Copied by
Big E Tab	LEVI’S in capitals	Before 1971	1992 Capital E, LVC, Big E since 2018
Small e Tab	“Levi’s”, capital L only	1971 or later	–
One-sided Tab	Lettering on one side only	1936 to early 1950s	LVC
Hidden rivets	Rivets covered by the back pockets	1937 to 1966	LVC
Bar tacks	Stitching instead of back-pocket rivets	1966 or later	–
Leather patch	Real leather Two Horse patch	Before the late 1950s	LVC
Redline selvedge	Red line on the outseam edge	About 1927 to 1984	LVC, premium lines
Care tag	Washing instructions inside	1970s or later	–
Orange Tab	Orange Tab, fashion fits	1960s to 1999	LVC
Made in USA	US origin, mainline pair	Before 2004	Some premium lines

Sources: Levi Strauss & Co. history of the 501, its Red Tab and Tab-color articles (2015 to 2023), and the AP report on the 2004 plant closures. Checked October 29, 2026.

The red Tab: Big E, small e and the other colors

Levi’s first sewed the red Tab onto the right back pocket of the 501 in 1936, with LEVI’S in white capitals on one side only. In the early 1950s the lettering began to run on both sides. A one-sided Tab is therefore an early sign, though reproductions copy it.

The change collectors care about came in 1971. Levi’s switched the Tab to “Levi’s” with a capital L only, to match the batwing logo it had adopted in 1967. Collectors call the earlier version Big E and the later one small e. Levi’s own dating tip says it plainly: a Tab with LEVI’S in capitals means the jeans are from before 1971.

Three things can mislead you:

• Tabs with only ®. Levi’s says about one in ten Tabs carry only the registered trademark symbol, on purpose. They are genuine. Date the pair from its other details.
• Other colors. The orange Tab arrived in the 1960s on fashion styles such as bell-bottoms and boot cuts, and Levi’s made orange Tab products until 1999. A black Tab with gold letters marked Sta-Prest pieces in the 1950s and 1960s, and the Silver Tab line started in 1988.
• The Big E is back. In 2018 Levi’s reintroduced the Big E Tab on premium products. Levi’s says the care tags tell these apart from the original Big E of 1936 to 1970.

Inside the jeans: care tag, patch, rivets and selvedge

Care tag and paper tags

Levi’s says care tags began being added to its garments in the 1970s, in line with the US Federal Trade Commission’s Care Labeling Rule of December 1971. A pair with no care tag at all leans older, although tags were sometimes cut out. A Big E pair with a large, modern care tag full of text is a reissue. In the 1970s Levi’s also sewed production tags inside the waistband, some with a red batwing.

Collectors read the four-digit code on many 1990s and later care tags as month and year of production. Levi’s doesn’t publish that convention, so use it to support other clues, not on its own.

The waistband patch

The Two Horse patch dates back to 1886. In the late 1950s Levi’s replaced the leather patch with heavy card stock, the “leather like” patch, because real leather had become expensive and automatic washing machines ruined it. A worn, original leather patch on a 501 points to before then.

Rivets and bar tacks

In 1937 Levi’s began sewing the back pockets over the rivets, after customers complained that the exposed rivets scratched furniture and saddles. In 1966 it replaced those back-pocket rivets with bar tacks, short bands of dense stitching. If you can feel rivets under the back pockets, you are looking at 1937 to 1966 construction, or a reproduction of it. During World War II, Levi’s also removed the crotch rivet and the back cinch, and painted the arcuate on the back pockets instead of stitching it.

Selvedge and the inseam

Turn up a cuff. On older 501s the edge of the denim runs along the outseam with a red line woven in: the redline selvedge. Cone Mills developed it for the 501 around 1927. In 1983 Cone began weaving on 60-inch wide looms, and by about 1984 the selvedge edge was gone. Levi’s also says almost all of its jeans made before the mid-1980s have a single-felled inseam, one line of stitching folded down the inner leg.

Made in USA and the button

Levi’s closed its Valencia Street plant in San Francisco in 2002 and its last two US sewing plants, in San Antonio, in January 2004. A mainline pair with a “Made in USA” label is therefore nearly always older than that, though some later premium lines were made in the US.

Many pairs have a number stamped on the back of the top button. Collectors read it as a factory code, not a year, and Levi’s doesn’t publish a list, so treat it as a supporting detail only.

Dating a Levi’s denim jacket

Levi’s jackets follow the same Tab rules (the Tab first appeared on jackets in 1937), plus a cut that changed in clear steps. Levi’s own timeline gives these dates:

• Lot 506, “Type I”: on the market from 1905 to 1953. Boxy, with one riveted front pocket, riveted cuffs and pleats on the front.
• Lot 507, “Type II”: 1953 to 1961. Still boxy, with two pleats and a back cinch or side adjusters.
• Lot 557, “Type III”: first in the October 1961 catalog. A tapered fit, no pleats, preshrunk denim, no rivets.
• Lot 70505: in 1967 the 557 was renumbered 70505, to match the new 505 jeans. It later became known as the Trucker.

Type I, II and III are collector names. Levi’s says it only started using them itself when it began its Levi’s Vintage Clothing line.

Reissues and fakes: what an original has that a copy usually doesn’t

Levi’s has reissued its own history several times. These are honest products, but they aren’t originals:

1. Capital E, 1992. Levi’s introduced a “Capital E” jean in the US after the success of a vintage model made by Levi Strauss Japan.
2. Levi’s Vintage Clothing (LVC), 1996. A line of reproductions with Big E Tabs, redline selvedge, hidden rivets and period patches. LVC must always show the full Tab, never a ® -only one.
3. Big E on premium products, 2018 on. Modern care tags give them away.

The same consistency test works on other often-copied pieces; see how to tell if a football shirt is fake for sports shirts and how to tell if Ralph Lauren is real for Polo shirts and sweaters. Counterfeits are a different matter: Levi’s says it knows they exist and recommends buying new jeans from its own stores and authorized dealers. With vintage, the useful test is consistency. A Big E Tab with a modern care tag and no LVC label, a “1950s” pair with bar tacks, or selvedge on a pair whose labels say 2010 are contradictions. If the clues don’t agree, ask the seller for photos of every label and the button back, or ask a denim specialist before you pay a vintage price.

Rare originals are why the checks matter. Levi Strauss & Co. bought a pair of 501s from about 1890 for $25,000 in 1997, and in October 2022 a pair of 1880s Levi’s found in an abandoned mine sold for $87,400, including a 15% buyer’s premium, at the Durango Vintage Festivus in New Mexico, as CNN reported. Those are museum-grade outliers. Most vintage Levi’s sell for far less.

How to date your pair, step by step

1. Read the Tab. Big E or small e, one side or both, red, orange, black, silver or ® only.
2. Look inside. Care tag or none, its size and wording, the “Made in” line, any lot number such as 501, 505 or 517.
3. Check the patch. Leather or card, and the lot number printed on it.
4. Feel the back pockets. Hidden rivets or bar tacks.
5. Turn up a cuff. Redline selvedge or an overlocked edge, and the inseam stitching.
6. Note the button back. Write down the number as a factory code.
7. Compare. Write each clue’s era next to it. If three or more agree, that’s your era. If one disagrees, find out why before you call it vintage.

That’s a lot to check at a flea market rack. A photo of the Tab and the care tag in the Vintage Snap app gives a first read: an AI model with live web search suggests the brand, model, era and condition, with an estimated range and a listing you can paste into a marketplace. Use it as a starting point and confirm it with the clues above.

The same label-first method dates a waxed jacket: see how to date a Barbour jacket. For track jackets and other sportswear, see how to date adidas clothing by its logo and label.

Found them in a bag of old clothes? Take them out before you sell clothes by the kilo. Once you know the era, see where to sell vintage clothes for the places denim buyers shop, and the lowest fees for selling clothes before you list. More dating and value guides are on the Vintage Snap guides hub.