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Hermès blind stamp checker

Read a blind-stamp letter together with its circle, square, or unframed shape.

Returns a yearOptional photo OCR

Check your blind stamp

Spaces, dots, and dashes are fine. Manual checks run in your browser. Photo reads log your IP and usage to enforce daily limits; photos are not stored.

Reference only—not an authenticity verdict

A plausible date code can appear on a counterfeit, and an unusual or unreadable code does not by itself make an item counterfeit. Use the result as one clue alongside construction, materials, provenance, and expert review.

Decoding guide

How the Hermès rule works

Hermès date letters repeat across several cycles. The frame around the letter is therefore part of the date, not decoration.

Read it in three passes

Follow the positions in order before interpreting the result.

1
Use the single date letter rather than the longer artisan or atelier stamp beside it.
2
Record whether the letter is unframed, circled, or squared.
3
Match the letter and frame together; the same letter can point to a different year in each system.

Worked examples

See how a visible marking becomes a narrow, readable result.

Marking	Interpretation
T · circle	→1990 in the circled cycle
T · no frame	→1964 or 2015 · resolve with the item's era

Where to look

Look for a small blind stamp pressed into a discreet leather area. The exact position changes with the product and era.

Know the limit

A letter without a clearly identified frame can return several possible years.

These rules explain documented marking patterns. They do not prove that an item is authentic.

Full reference

Hermès codes, era by era

Hermès date letters only make sense when the frame and the item's period are read together. The tables below separate the four documented cycles and keep repeated plain letters visibly ambiguous.

01Compiled reference

Date-stamp cycles

The alphabet ran in order through three framed or unframed systems before Hermès moved to a non-sequential modern series.

Hermès date-stamp cycles from 1945 onward
Period	Stamp treatment	How to read it
1945–1970	Plain A–Z	A begins at 1945; advance one year per letter
1971–1996	A–Z inside a circle	A begins at 1971; advance one year per letter
1997–2014	A–R inside a square	A begins at 1997; advance through R
2015 onward	Plain, non-sequential letters	Use the modern lookup rather than alphabet order

A plain letter can belong to the early cycle or the modern one. For example, plain T can indicate 1964 or 2015; the bag's construction and history must resolve the period.

02Compiled reference

Historic letter-by-letter tables

The same alphabet restarts in each framing system. Match both the letter and its treatment before selecting a year.

Hermès plain date letters from 1945 through 1970
Plain letter	Year
A	1945
B	1946
C	1947
D	1948
E	1949
F	1950
G	1951
H	1952
I	1953
J	1954
K	1955
L	1956
M	1957
N	1958
O	1959
P	1960
Q	1961
R	1962
S	1963
T	1964
U	1965
V	1966
W	1967
X	1968
Y	1969
Z	1970

Hermès circled date letters from 1971 through 1996
Circled letter	Year
A	1971
B	1972
C	1973
D	1974
E	1975
F	1976
G	1977
H	1978
I	1979
J	1980
K	1981
L	1982
M	1983
N	1984
O	1985
P	1986
Q	1987
R	1988
S	1989
T	1990
U	1991
V	1992
W	1993
X	1994
Y	1995
Z	1996

Hermès squared date letters from 1997 through 2014
Squared letter	Year
A	1997
B	1998
C	1999
D	2000
E	2001
F	2002
G	2003
H	2004
I	2005
J	2006
K	2007
L	2008
M	2009
N	2010
O	2011
P	2012
Q	2013
R	2014

03Compiled reference

Modern unframed letter table

Modern assignments deliberately do not follow a simple alphabet sequence, so each letter must be looked up directly.

Modern Hermès date letters from 2015 through 2026
Year	Plain letter
Late 2014 transition	R
2015	T
2016	X
2017	A
2018	C
2019	D
2020	Y
2021	Z
2022	U
2023	B
2024	W
2025	K
2026	G

Plain R is reported on some late-2014 production during the move away from squared stamps. Item context is essential because plain R also appears in the 1945–1970 cycle.

Sources and method

Brand and archive material is preferred where it exists. Public decoding tables are identified as compiled references or observed patterns so their uncertainty stays visible.