Vintage 1986 Swans “Holy Money” Album Promotional T-Shirt

Label: SWANS

Era: Original 1986

Composition: 100% Cotton

Condition: Excellent, naturally broken-in vintage condition. Decades of wear have given the cotton a smooth, matte-black fade while leaving the shirt structurally sound, with no visible holes or seam separation. Please refer closely to the photographs for a complete assessment.

Size: Estimated Men’s Medium, with a slim 1980s rock silhouette. Please consult the exact measurements below to ensure a precise fit.

Measurements:

Shoulder to Shoulder: 47cm

Armpit to Armpit: 50cm

Total Length: 62cm

Made in the USA

Dating from 1986, this original promotional T-shirt for Swans’ fourth studio album, Holy Money, is a cornerstone artefact of New York’s experimental underground. It represents a pivotal period in the band’s evolution, when Michael Gira and Jarboe brought severe Industrial No-Wave sound, ritualistic repetition and confrontational anti-consumerist imagery into a singular artistic language.

The front carries one of the band’s most recognisable graphic compositions: an enormous gilded dollar-sign emblem intersected by deep olive horizontal bars. Stark red block lettering spells out “S-W-A-N-S” above and “HOLY MONEY” below, creating a brutal, almost propagandistic layout whose symbolism mirrors the album’s preoccupation with power, control, greed and submission.

Period-style single-stitch construction appears along the sleeves and lower hem, while four decades of natural wear have softened the cotton into an exceptionally fluid, lightweight jersey. The matte-black fading and finely textured print give the shirt an authenticity and visual depth that modern reproductions cannot convincingly recreate.