Vintage T-Shirt Forum & Community Authentication Appraisals

Barn Find of T-Shirts? My husband and I bought a house in a town I grew up in that has been unoccupied for 20 years, we currently live on that street and have several houses in town. We went to war with an estate and foreclosed nursing home to save it. When we finally acquired it, it was loaded with furniture and more... We've been cleaning it out for weeks. Inside a set of pioneer speakers (lol) I could feel something in there and found four concert T-Shirts. Being a product of the 80's, I gathered they may be worth some decent value. Knowing the time capsule the house is (you should see the wooden plaid furniture and orange Tupperware and original croc-pot)... I feel confident they are authentic/originals. But I'd like to validate that and get a pulse on their value. So far, the tags are checking out. I have them picture. However, I need some help figuring out what I have here. Any held is greatly appreciated. I actually have a 4th t-shirt but it is not a concert T, it's a Freddie Kruger T.

Iron Maiden, 1988, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - Spring Ford Tag - L
Metallica, 1987, The 50's Tag, L - Pic of four band members on back
Megadeath, XL, The Brockum Collection, Contaminated

Nice score and love the story! Id say you'd get about $200 with Maiden. $100 with Mega and Metallica...could be $300 or more. I have seen the tee before but dont remember what ballpark it fetches.

The bad news is that eBay seem to be flooded with Seventh and Contaminated reprints for $20...so taking a bit of a bite out of their value.

Thanks so much for the info! Ha... the story is something for sure! I appreciate it and hey, who could gripe about getting some extra dough. I think the last thing I need to know is if there is any more preferred way of taking pics or shipping/etc. I pretty much see them laying flat out on solid colors. Will do a bit of reading before posting. I'll let you know where I landed!

Nice shirts. Probably the best way to photograph the shirts is flat on the floor, since it gives a better view of the sleeve size...however getting the camera in the right position can be a pain in the neck (not to mention you may have to sweep or vacuum the floor beforehand). However, I usually put it on a hanger, hang it on a wall nail, and take the pic. Lighting is important on black shirts...sometimes flash works, sometimes not. I also use a cheap hand held flood light at times. The problem with taking pics with indoor lighting is ensuring that the dark shirt doesn't look more faded than it is.

In addition to what Jimmy said, if you list it on Ebay, put "80's Original..Not a Reproduction" in the title (or something similar). Ebay is much more generous with title characters than it use to be. Then in the description, state that your shirt is authentic, legitimate etc...basically the real deal, not a garage produced reproduction.