What is a Blind Stamp?
The blind stamp—also called the date stamp or artisan stamp—is a small, discreet mark pressed into the leather of every Hermès bag. It serves multiple purposes: dating the bag, identifying the individual craftsman who made it, and providing a crucial authentication checkpoint.
Why It's Called a “Blind” Stamp
Unlike the heat-stamped “HERMÈS PARIS MADE IN FRANCE” logo that sits on the front of bags, the date stamp is pressed without ink or foil. It's subtle, often hard to see without good lighting, and designed to be discreet—hence “blind.”
This subtlety makes it both a security feature (hard to replicate correctly) and a telltale sign for authenticators.
What the Stamp Contains
Year Code
Single letter or symbol indicating the year of production
Craftsman ID
Secondary mark identifying the individual artisan
Workshop
Sometimes includes workshop location code
The Evolution of Blind Stamps
Understanding how the blind stamp system has changed over decades is crucial for authentication. Counterfeiters often get the era wrong, using modern stamps on supposedly vintage bags.
No codes or Circle symbols
Pre-blind stamp era
Circle symbols only
● ○ ⬤ (various circles)
Letters only
A = 1997, B = 1998, C = 1999
Single letters
D (2000) through K (2007)
Single letters
L (2008) through T (2015)
Alphanumeric
Y (2020), Z (2021), U (2022), B (2023), W (2024), K (2025), G (2026)
The 2015 Anomaly
In 2015, Hermès reached the end of the alphabet (excluding X and O). Instead of starting over, they introduced a new system: a letter inside a square, then a circle, then plain again. This cycling continues today.
Where to Find the Blind Stamp
The location varies by bag model, and knowing where to look is the first step in authentication.
Birkin Location
- Left side of the interior leather strap
- On the back wall of interior (some models)
- Sometimes under the interior pocket
Kelly Location
- Interior side of the back strap
- Inside the interior pocket (older models)
- On the back interior panel
⚠️ Authentication Red Flag
If a seller claims a bag is from a certain year but the stamp location doesn't match the typical placement for that era, be suspicious. Hermès has been remarkably consistent with stamp placement within each model line.
Complete Year Reference Chart (1945–2026)
Bookmark this section. It is a full year-by-year lookup across all four Hermès stamp eras — no-shape letters, circled letters, squared letters, and today's standalone codes. Every entry below is built strictly from data confirmed elsewhere on this page. Where this guide does not pin down an individual year, the cell says so plainly rather than guessing — treat those years as a starting point for your own research, not a verified answer.
How to Read “Verify Against Multiple Sources”
Some years in the tables below are marked this way instead of showing a letter. That is a deliberate choice: this guide would rather flag a gap than print a code we cannot back up, since a wrong year code is exactly the kind of detail counterfeiters exploit. For those years, cross-check against a specialist authenticator or a second independent reference before relying on the stamp alone.
1945–1970: No-Shape Letter Era
Letters with no enclosing shape. Per this guide's own record above, pieces from before 1970 were not date-stamped at all.
| Year | Code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1945–1969 | — | No date stamp existed on pieces from this range, per this guide's own record above. |
| 1970 | Verify against multiple sources | Transitional year; the decade overview above only says the 1970s carried “no codes or circle symbols,” without pinning down 1970 itself. |
1971–1996: Circled Letter Era
Letters enclosed in a circle. This guide's decade overview confirms the circle system in general terms but does not map individual years to individual symbols.
| Year Range | Code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1971–1979 | Verify against multiple sources | This guide's decade overview groups the 1970s as “no codes or circle symbols” without individual-year detail. |
| 1980–1989 | Circle symbol | Confirmed as a circle-based system (● ○ ⬤) by the decade overview above, but this article does not map a specific symbol to a specific year. |
| 1990–1996 | Verify against multiple sources | This guide's data resumes with named letters starting at 1997 (see Square Era below); 1990–1996 is not individually specified. |
1997–2014: Squared Letter Era (A–R)
Letters enclosed in a square, running from A through R. Every year is listed below; several are confirmed directly by this guide, the rest are marked for independent verification rather than assumed from the alphabet.
| Year | Code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | A | Named directly in this guide's decade overview. |
| 1998 | B | Named directly in this guide's decade overview. |
| 1999 | C | Named directly in this guide's decade overview. |
| 2000 | D | Named as the start of the 2000s range in this guide's decade overview. |
| 2001 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “D (2000) through K (2007)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2002 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “D (2000) through K (2007)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2003 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “D (2000) through K (2007)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2004 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “D (2000) through K (2007)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2005 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “D (2000) through K (2007)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2006 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “D (2000) through K (2007)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2007 | K | Named as the end of the 2000s range in this guide's decade overview. |
| 2008 | L | Named as the start of the 2010s range in this guide's decade overview. |
| 2009 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “L (2008) through T (2015)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2010 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “L (2008) through T (2015)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2011 | Verify against multiple sources | Falls inside the stated “L (2008) through T (2015)” range, but no individual letter is given. |
| 2012 | P | Confirmed in the legacy year table on this page. |
| 2013 | Q | Confirmed in the legacy year table on this page. |
| 2014 | R | Confirmed in the legacy year table on this page. |
2015–2026: Standalone Letter Era
No enclosing shape (with the exception of 2017–2019, which reused a square). Codes in this era are non-sequential and reused, which makes them the most frequently misrepresented by counterfeiters — this range is fully specified in this guide.
| Year | Code | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | G | Current year — letter only. |
| 2025 | K | Letter only, no shape. |
| 2024 | W | |
| 2023 | B | Cycled back to an earlier letter, without a square, per this guide. |
| 2022 | U | |
| 2021 | Z | No O codes used this year, per this guide. |
| 2020 | Y | |
| 2019 | D | Square D, per this guide's legacy table. |
| 2018 | C | Square C, per this guide's legacy table. |
| 2017 | A | Square A, per this guide's legacy table. |
| 2016 | T | No X codes used this year, per this guide. |
| 2015 | T | Plain T — transition year out of the square era. |
Note: Hermès skips the letters “O” and “X” to avoid confusion with numbers. The letter “I” is also skipped as it resembles “1”.
Using Blind Stamps for Authentication
The blind stamp is one of the most reliable authentication tools when you know what to look for. Here are the key checks:
The Font Test
Hermès uses proprietary fonts for their stamps that are nearly impossible to replicate exactly. The spacing, serif style, and proportions are consistent across all authentic bags from the same era.
✓ Authentic Stamp Characteristics
- • Clean, crisp edges
- • Consistent depth (not too deep)
- • Even pressure across the letter
- • Correct font for the era
- • Proper spacing between marks
✗ Counterfeit Warning Signs
- • Blurry or smudged edges
- • Too deep (machine-pressed)
- • Uneven pressure
- • Wrong font for claimed year
- • Chemical burn marks
For a closer look at exactly how counterfeit stamps fail on physical inspection — depth, font weight, placement and more — see our companion piece on fake Hermès blind stamps.
Common Counterfeit Mistakes
The “X” Mistake
Hermès has never used the letter “X” in date codes. If you see an “X” stamp, the bag is counterfeit—no exceptions.
Future Dating
Some counterfeiters use letters that don't exist yet. If you see a stamp code that's not in our chart and the bag is supposedly recent, it's fake.
Wrong Era Placement
A bag claiming to be from the 1990s shouldn't have a modern alphanumeric code. Era-appropriate coding is essential.
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