1963 Hermes 3000 #3180169

Status: My Collection
Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)
Created: 01-11-2026 at 10:19AM
Last Edit: 01-11-2026 at 10:25AM

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Description:

I purchased this 1st-generation Hermes 3000 at New England Typewriter LLC on 11-21-2025. Part of the motivation was to have a keepsake machine that was not in my collection, because after only about a year of being open, NET was planning to close shop on 12-31-25, possibly to reopen again in 2026; but who knows? I was bummed to have a local typewriter service shop about a half hour or less away from home, and then to lose it so soon! Therefore, I splurged, and bought my first typewriter since 3-29-2008 (more than 17.5 years). I paid $850 for a fully-serviced machine from a shop, which is about five times as much as the next most costly machine to my wallet; that one was my Fox 24 #107271, which cost $175 all-in on eBay when I won it on 2-7-1999. However, the Hermes was substantially cheaper than the Fox when measured in ounces of gold or silver compared to 1999! At $80 silver, compared to $5 silver back then, the Fox cost me 35 Troy oz. of silver in 1999, and the Hermes cost me only 10.6 Troy oz. of silver at today's spot price (1-11-26). At $4500 gold, compared to $300 back then, the Fox cost me 0.58 Troy oz. of gold in 1999, and the Hermes cost me only 0.19 Troy oz. of gold. Therefore, be glad when you find machines like this in good shape for sub-$100, for it's a screaming deal!

This is only the 2nd Hermes machine ever to be in my collection. The first was a 1960 Hermes Rocket, S/N 5776148, without its case, which was given to me in 1997 or 1998 by a colleague in graduate school, whose family had found it in a house they had recently bought in Baxley, GA. I didn't get on with the little Rocket. I found the keyboard to be a bit cramped, and the action a bit mushy for my taste. So, eventually, I gifted it on to someone else. Therefore, this Hermes 3000 is the only Hermes machine in my collection. It types great, as well it should given it was serviced by a typewriter shop and cost a mint; the typeface is Pica. The serial number, 3180169, implies a manufacture date somewhere around May of 1963, assuming a linear production rate and correct data in the TWDB.

Typeface Specimen:

Photos:

Front with case.

Case.

Front with cover off.

Serial number.

Right quadrant.

Right.

Back, with paper rest down.

Back, with paper rest up.

Back, left detail

Back, right detail.

Left.

Left quadrant.

Typing sample.

Hunter: Brian Decker (bkdecker66)

Brian Decker's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]

Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 1255

My interest in typewriters started in 1997, when I was in graduate school at the University of Georgia. I purchased and read Darryl Rehr's book, joined ETC, and started reaching out to known collectors. I had several email interchanges with Richard Polt dating from that period. I also bought some of my first machines from Bob Aubert, and visited him at his home twice. After marriage and relocation to New England, I continued visiting antique shops and eBay, until other priorities put my typewriter hobby on hiatus around 2008. I still have my collection of around 57 machines, and now I have a renewed interest in getting some of them in good working and cosmetic order.