Authenticating a Coach purse? ♔MzGuillen♕ California 17280 posts Jan 4th '11 I had seen awhile back someone posted a link to enter the serial number of Coach bags to see if it is real or fake.
Note: The information being presented in this post has not been verified and may not be fully accurate. Please scroll down for more information. - The Mod Team
Hi there, There is some misinformation in the ebelle guide 'How to spot a fake Coach bag' about some of the creeds and serial numbers. I have emailed Jennifer to let her know and I am posting the history of Coach creeds and serial #'s, for any person who is interested in older Coach bags and vintage Coach bags manufactured before the 1990s.HISTORY OF COACH CREEDS & SERIAL NUMBERS.
The second and third photo of the creeds/serial #’s in the ebelle Coach guide which are labeled as fake are genuine pre-90s creeds/serial #’s.
In the 1960's Coach bags had either a metal identifier tag, or simple impression of the Coach logo, no creed no serial #'s.
Coach introduced the creed without any serial # sometime in the late 60's/early70s. The word 'leatherwear' is under the word Coach and the wording of the creed at this time was all caps 'THIS IS A COACH BAG. IT IS MADE OUT OF A COMPLETELY NATURAL GLOVE TANNED COWHIDE. THE SCARS, SCRATCHES, VEINS AND WRINKLES ARE NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FULL GRAIN LEATHERS'. Under the creed is in all caps, 'MADE IN NEW YORK CITY, U.S.A.' ALL Coach bags made after the introduction of the creed and before serial #'s were introduced were made in NYC. Note that there are gaps in the creed in the lines describing the 'scars, scratches, veins and wrinkles'
Coach Bags Serial Numbers
When Coach added serial numbers to the creed in the 1970's they were 'all numbers' in the format 'xxx-xxxx' as shown in the second photo in the ebelle list. The last four digits do not correspond to the style number, each bag had a unique number. The particular bag shown in photo 2 on the list was made in New York City. Coach ceased making bags in NYC in the mid 70's before there was such a thing as fakes or knock offs. NYC bags are vintage and rare.This serial number format (all numbers, xxx-xxxx) is also on bags made in the United states, after Coach began manufacturing bags in multiple locations in the USA rather than NYC (sometime in the mid to late 70s). The wording of the creed is the same, except on the bottom it will say 'MADE IN THE UNITED STATES' OR 'MADE IN U.S.A.' Again the last four digits are not the style number, and the serial #’s were unique to each bag. There are a few styles with 'MADE IN U.S.A' that have 8
in the serial number - all numbers, no dash, just a continuous string.In the 1980's Coach changed the serial numbers to 'all numbers' in the format xxxx-xxx. An example of this in the third photo in the ebelle guide. The last three numbers do not relate to the style number, again the serial #’s were apparently unique to each bag.
Coach
It was not until the 1990's that Coach introduced the modern registration format of letters and numbers, with the last four digits being the style number (or in the case of some of the newer bags after 2000, the last five digits). These registration numbers are not unique to each bag. The wording of the creed was also changed to all caps 'THIS IS A COACH BAG. IT WAS HANDCRAFTED IN (country of origin) OF COMPLETELY NATURAL GLOVE-TANNED COWHIDE. THE VARIATIONS IN THE GRAIN ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF NATURAL FULL GRAIN LEATHER.' There are no longer gaps between any of the words.At the present time any one who reads the ebelle review here will think any bag for sale on an online auction site which was made pre 1990s and has the old serial number format, is fake, even the rare, vintage, made in New York City Bonnie Cashin designs. Hopefully Jennifer will get a chance to update the review soon.
Coach Bags Serial Numbers
If you would like photos of the 60's metal tag or impressed logo, or any of the pre-90s creeds and serial #'s please contact me. I would also be happy to share photos of knock-offs of Coach leather bags, including the classics, which are based on the bags from this pre-90s era, including photos of fake creeds and serial #’s.
I this post helps Coach classics and vintage bag collectors.