All Things Vintage: What's a Holy Grail?

"Holy Grail" here, "Holy Grail" there: We discuss what is meant by it in the vintage world, how the sometimes horrendous prices come about and how to find your "holy grail"!

What is a "Holy Grail"?

You talk about a "Holy Grail" when it's THE one piece that seems absolutely unobtainable (or you've always wanted): A rare pair of Levi's "Big E" jeans. One of those old Marvel shirts that were only made to order. Or the original Nike "Air Mag" that Michael J. Fox wore on his feet in Back to the Future II.

A Holy Grail can be many things: It can be a unique piece, as in the last example. But it can also be an old soccer jersey from TSV Hinterdupfingen. That may not interest anyone outside of Hinterdupfingen and may not be worth a fortune, but a Holy Grail can also have a personal emotional value. Contrary to this, many vintage parts are considered Holy Grail by sellers precisely because they have a high market value. In any case, all Holy Grails have one thing in common: they are rare.

The (market) value of a Holy Grail is, as always, the result of (little) supply and (much) demand. By definition, vintage items are rarer to find than today's off-the-shelf goods, because they are either no longer produced - or only in inferior quality. When a prominent vintage wearer makes a piece popular, the hype begins.

Examples from recent years: The "Weapon X" shirt (Travis Scott). Nike hoodies with center swoosh (yup, Travis Scott). Or the Nirvana "Heart Shaped Box" shirt (Justin Bieber). Celebrity + style + personal value equals "demand" and a run on these pieces. Another factor: the quality of a piece - be it the outstanding print of these two shirts or the first-class workmanship of the Levi's "Big E" line mentioned at the beginning.

How much is your/a Holy Grail worth?

If you are unsure how much your personal Grail of all Grails is worth - either because you want to sell it or buy it - you can research online: Google other stores that may have already sold the piece. On eBay, check "Sold items" in the search filter (under "Show only"). Or politely ask other sellers and collectors.

Important: The actual selling prices are good indicators - and not the price for which the piece is listed (and at which price it has often not been sold for years). In addition to overpriced offers from ignorant people, there are also high prices on the Internet, because some sellers actually prefer to keep their Holy Grail.

With unique items or extremely niche topics (jersey from TSV Hinterdupfingen, remember?) it can also be tricky if there is no comparison to the price range online or at the local vintage store. But the longer you deal with the topic and keep an eye on the prices, the more you get a feel for it: If a piece seems special to you, it is special (to you) - and in the end, there just has to be that one other person who is willing to pay XY amount for their personal Holy Grail (or trade another piece for it).

Don’t Believe the Hype

A good example of "personal value": The now famous "Genie" shirt, which sold for a whopping 6000 US dollars in an online auction - without ever having scratched that price region before or being particularly popular in the vintage scene.


Sure: That "Aladdin" is one of the most popular Disney films from the 90s was already known beforehand. But hardly anyone (except the buyer and his fellow bidders) had guessed that the shirt would be worth so much to someone. What followed in the following months, however, also shows how one can completely exaggerate the price of a sought-after shirt: Because hundreds of enterprising sellers were now looking for the shirt, more copies of the Genie shirt appeared. The problem: All wanted prices in the four-digit range for the "Holy Grail" - and were stuck with it. So the first expensive sold Genie-Shirt had really been the very personal Holy Grail of a certain collector. And no other person was willing to pay 6000 USD for it.


Nevertheless, some people seem to have learned nothing from this: Even after the hype about the Genie-Shirt, some sellers still advertise everything with "Grail" that doesn't resist (and partly isn't even rare). The word degenerates to an empty sales argument, which becomes unbelievable at the latest when someone advertises something as the "Holy Grail", which one supposedly "searched for years"... but then wants to resell it directly. In any case, we are of the opinion that personal value is more important than monetary value - and we personally only speak of a Holy Grail when our heart beats faster when we think of it.

How do you find your Holy Grail?

Whether you're traveling with a gold credit card or without, you need one thing above all else in search of your Holy Grail: patience. Often for years. But you can help your luck along: It helps to tell EVERYONE which vintage piece you are looking for. Whether vintage collector, friends or the people at the local second hand store: Many eyes see more than two. And sometimes someone knows someone who knows someone... We've been able to check a few grails off our list through connections like this.

Online, it also helps to activate search notifications for the term you are looking for. Small tip: Also activate searches for terms that sound similar to your Holy Grail (for example "Levis", "Jeans" and "Denim" if you are looking for old Levi's).

That many visits to flea markets, vintage stores and eBay help additionally, we simply don't mention here ;)