Louis Vuitton Date Codes

Background Info:

Louis Vuitton is one of Siopaella's most loved brands. Founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton the brand has been around for over 150 years and is well known world wide, lv's current revenue estimated to be a whopping 9.9 billion alongside it's resale. LV pieces hold value no matter what year they're from, what style they are, or what condition they're in, this is because the brand is known to never go on sale and the fashion house is known to increase their prices every two years.

Date Codes not Serial Numbers:

Most people think that Louis Vuitton handbags have serial numbers on them to insure authenticity, when in actual fact what the handbags have are date codes. These little codes can be found on all Louis Vuitton handbags and most accessories, typically on Monogram & Damier pieces they are embossed on a little tag to the bags interior and sometimes on Graphite pieces they are embossed in foil. On Vernis & Epi Leather pieces they tend to be embossed into pockets. These date codes are there for Manufacturing reasons only and in actual fact have nothing to do with authenticity, although knowing how to read them is kind of cool!

Here's How to Read Them:

• Prior to 1980 LV bags had no date codes.

• Early 1980's bags used three or four numbers to represent the year it was made and the month. For Example: "852" would mean the bag was made in February, 1982.

• Late 1980's they used three or four numbers followed by two letters to show the country it was made in. For Example: "887AH" would mean the bag was made in July, 1988 in France (table to follow).

• 1990-2006 they changed things slightly. The codes would read two letters followed by four numbers. The letters indicate where the bag was made, the first and third number showed the month, and the second and fourth would show the year. For Example: "LP0958" this would mean it was made in Germany, May 1998.

• 2007 to today they continued to use two letters followed by four numbers. This time the first and third numbers will represent the week of the year. For Example: "BC2150" this means the bag was made in Italy, on the 25th week of 2010.

Date codes are not the sole way of authenticating Louis Vuitton pieces but they are used as guidelines to appraise items, and also are just kind of cool for customers to see when buying a piece. We have had customers buy Louis Vuitton pieces from us based on date codes alone! Whether it is because the bag was made on the week or year their first child was born or it was made in the same country they got engaged to their now wife/husband, we've seen some amazing coincidences when selling LV pieces. When shopping with us, always be sure to ask our staff about the year and any info of the Louis Vuitton piece you are interested in and we will be sure to tell you as much as we know!

France - VX, VI , TS, TR, TN, TH, TJ, TA, SR, SP, SN, SL, SF, SD, SA, RI, RA, NO, MI, MB, LW, FL, ET, CX, CT, CO, DT, DR, DU, BA, BJ, BU,A0, A1, A2, AA, AAS, AH, AN, AR, AS  

Germany - OL, LP

Italy - TD, SA, RE, RC, PL, OB, NZ, MA, FO , CE, BO

Spain - UB, GI, LW, LM, LB, LO, CA, BC 

Switzerland - FA, DI

USA - TX, FL, SD, OS, LA, FH, FC

  Our clients can receive up to 80% of the selling price of Louis Vuitton pieces. SELL US YOUR BAGS! Selling your Louis Vuitton handbags to Siopaella is easy! We're always buying designer pieces - please see our updated wishlists under the "Sell" tab. Contact one of our Buyers directly on 089 617 0937 or message us on info@siopaella.com. You can drop by our 25a temple lane south store in Dublin, 7 days a week - no appointment is necessary if you have Wishlist items to sell :-)

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