A 1967 Grateful Dead t-shirt just became the most expensive rock t-shirt

Sotheby’s, the prestigious fine art auction house, has just had a really old Grateful Dead t-shirt break a longstanding record after going up for sale.

As per Defunkd, the t-shirt from 1967 is now the most expensive rock t-shirt after selling for $17,640. Bo Bushnell was the lucky recipient of the t-shirt. They operate Outlaw Archive which showcases his personal collection of 1960s motorcycle club artifacts. Bushnell actually ended up paying a total of $19,315.80 to Sotheby’s for the prized t-shirt.

The record used to belong to a Led Zeppelin t-shirt from a 1979 show at Knebworth, which was sold on eBay 10 years ago for $10,000. That means the record has almost doubled in a decade.

For a band with such an avid fanbase that they have their own name (Deadheads), it’s little wonder that the t-shirt went for so much money.

The Grateful Dead t-shirt comes from the collection of Dan Healy, an audio engineer who used to work for the much-loved jam band. The bright yellow t-shirt was designed by Allan “Gut” Terkas. The record-breaking t-shirt is thought to be one of the earliest official t-shirts ever made for them.

“Designed by the Hells Angel, Merry Prankster, and graphic artist Allan “Gut” Terk, a key figure in California counterculture in the 1960’s,” the auction listing said. “Friends with Ken Kesey, he was the painter of the Pranksters’ “Further” bus in 1964 and designed the Acid Test Graduation posters. By 1967, through his work for the Dead, he was acclaimed in the Bay Area music scene for his t-shirt and poster art.”

Dead & Company, the band consisting of former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann (alongside John Mayer and others), are still doing their thing after all these years. They’re currently on tour in the U.S., with the tour set to finish with three sold-out shows at L.A.’s Hollywood Bowl.