1980 – 1985
Digits only
Three or four digits, no letters. The first two are the year, the rest is the month.
843reads as March 1984Louis Vuitton
Read the date code.
Type the heat-stamped code and get the production date, the workshop country and the era it belongs to. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is stored or sent anywhere.
Dots, spaces and dashes are ignored — the code updates as you type.
Four systems, forty years
How the code is built
Louis Vuitton changed the stamping rules three times. The reader tries every system that fits and tells you when a code is readable in more than one way.
1985 – 1989
Digits, then letters
Same date reading, with two factory letters stamped after the numbers.
8912SDreads as December 1989, France or USA1990 – 2006
Letters, then month
Two factory letters first. Digits 1 and 3 are the month, digits 2 and 4 are the year.
SD1002reads as October 20022007 – 2021
Letters, then week
Same layout, but digits 1 and 3 now hold the production week instead of the month.
SP4109reads as Week 40 of 2019March 2021
Newer pieces have no date code at all
Louis Vuitton finished replacing the stamped date code with an embedded RFID microchip during 2021. A bag made after that carries no readable code, so a missing code on a recent piece is normal.
The opposite is the red flag: a stamped code that reads as 2022 or later cannot be genuine. The reader rejects those instead of inventing a date.
Before you buy
A date is not a certificate
Counterfeits copy date codes freely, and a plausible code proves nothing on its own. Read it together with the stitching, the hardware stamps, the lining and the leather — or ask us to look at the piece.
Browse authenticated vintageOPAVINTAGE is an independent vintage seller and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Louis Vuitton Malletier or any of its trademarks. A readable date code is not a proof of authenticity.