answers to AUTHENTICITY questions!!!

[jayde123]

It looks like the Coach Fake Serial Numbers thread at Ebay's Shoes & Purses forum has been updated, so with Daria48's permission I'm going to post it here. These are serial numbers often found on fakes, especially older ones but also show up on some new bags. Just because a serial number is not on this list, that doesn't mean the bag is genuine. A lot of fakes have correct serial numbers.

The list and any updates can be found at Ebay:
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000685987&start=0

Bags with any serial numbers from this first group are ALWAYS fake:
NT-4903
NT-4908
NT-4115
NT-4157
NT-9992
DK-8674
TF-6823
TN-4136
TN-4186
TN-9085
TN-9096
TN-9927
TN-9951

4C-8624
4C-9911
40-8624
7H-7456


ANY Coach bag with only two letters or one number and one letter to the left of the hyphen can be assumed to be fake.

501-20 + all similar numbers starting with 101-, 202-, 501-, 701-, etc., followed by 2 or 3 numbers after the dash and usually with a patch that says "made in Korea".

Coach never made bags in Korea and never used serial numbers with only 5 digits like this:
"xxx-xx" or "xxx-xxx" and without the abbreviated "No." in front of the numbers

Coach never made "classic" leather bags with matching sewn-on cell phone holders.

H4B-0516

H4B-0678

H4B-0517

H4B-0520

H4B-0532

HRB-0516


Probably ANY serial number beginning with H4B followed by a style # beginning with 0 is probably fake (a Scooter Bag H4B-9893 and a Bucket Bag H4B-9948 are two of the exceptions), these numbers would only have been used in briefcases.

012-3445

A2G-6094 and A2J-6094 - or ANY bag ending in 6094 - Fake if it's NOT a Demi Bag like this, and even if the style matches, the bag can still be fake:
http://www.coach.com/assets/product_images/drilldown2/6094_d2.jpg

A5B-3906 - fake Sonoma Double Zip Bags

J4D-4133 - Fake if it's NOT a Waverly Bag

L4C-9941 or LAC-9941

M4N-4154
Anything starting with M4N is suspect.

0444-317, 0444-316 AND 0444-315 and possibly others beginning with 0444 - some "classic" fakes are showing up with these numbers and have a number of mistakes in the creed stamps and on the bags themselves. Assume they're all fake

00138 - always fake, with or without any numbers or letters in front of it

308-9875

308-9937 - probably fake

DEJ-9816 and ECC-9816 - fake prefix and incorret suffix, 9816 belongs to a "classic" Duffle Sac

There are some ending in -9927 but aren't Willis Bags

There are fake Signature Stripe Denim Totes and Signature Stripe Denim Satchels using fake serial numbers ending in 11192 and 11190. All these bags are counterfeit. Coach hasn't used these numbers in any of their bags.

Any recent or current model bag with a serial prefix of M3U- is fake. A genuine bag with this number would have been made in 2003.

Any bag with a style number of 6047 that isn't a fabric Signature Satchel like this one is a counterfeit:
http://www.coach.com/assets/product_images/drilldown2/6047_d2.jpg

The counterfeiters also use many legitimate-looking serial numbers but on the wrong style bags or accessories, like -5659 which should only be on a Scribble Tote, -6094 which should only be on a Signature Demi, and -1417 which should only be on an East-West Leather duffle. Accessories with style #5077 are fake, that number belongs to an Optic Bee Tote.

Older bags beginning with K3H-, J8H-, and M4B- prefixes are possible counterfeits especially if the font of the digits of the serial number seems slightly different.

Fake numbers L4C-9941 and LAC-9941 and possibly other combinations ending in 9941 are showing up on a variety of classic-looking leather bags, most with badly wrinkled "stretch-marked" leather and a "Coach" imprint somewhere on the front of the bag, usually off-center. They'll sometimes have cell phone holders sewn on the side of the bag.

GAC- and GAG- prefixes have also turned up lately. ANY bag with just three LETTERS to the left of the dash is fake. Be careful not to mistake a Zero in the center position for the letter O though, all bags made in 2000 will have a zero in the center.

we've seen several Coaches with this serial number:
P7B-4907
Not only are the bags NOT Sonoma Small Bucket Zips, but the first digit "P" is completely wrong and would never be used on ANY Coach. Any bag with this serial number is counterfeit.

Fakes are also showing up with the # J4N-4082 which belongs ONLY to a Soho Bag from 1994 and should look like this:
http://web.archive.org/web/19970214040415/www.coach.com/product/index.html

Any bag with a serial # ending in 9956 needs to be looked at by someone very familiar with Coach, this number should only be on a leather Pelham Bag.

More fake "classic' leather Coaches are showing up with bad creeds and the bogus "overstamping lines" above and below the serial numbers like I mentioned in post # 39. The latest one is a fake light blue tote (always be careful with older bags in unusual colors, Coach's classic leather colors were pretty conservative so anything besides the usual black, brown, navy, mahogany, British Tan, dark green etc should be examined closely).
Watch for these numbers - 0212-578 and 1212-578

Any bag (especially any in the Hippie Flap style) with a serial number of H6S-9135 should be referred to the posters at this board for authentication. The style number belongs only to a Leather Hippie Flap bag but the ones we've seen with this number are either the wrong fabric or have invalid code digits and badly-stamped creeds. A genuine Hippie Flap will NEVER have this serial number prefix.

Also look VERY carefully at classic bags beginning with " H6M- " and with "Made in the United States" at the bottom of the creed, quite a few fakes seem to use this prefix.

And a lot of newer style Coaches are showing up with only a 5-digit number after the "No", either on the same line as the last words of the creed or by itself at the bottom of the patch - number 00138 is the most common. All these are fake. Coach serial numbers will never have only five digits.

Serial numbers beginning with the letters N thru Z are not valid Coach numbers and are almost certainly fake

Any bag with a tag or patch that says "Sports Coach" is NOT a genuine Coach

Please remember, just because a Coach item seems to have the right style number, or looks just like the picture from Coach's website, that doesn't mean it's genuine.

Always ask at the tPF Coach Authenticate This forum or the Ebay Purses Forum if you're not sure:

http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/authenticate-this-coach-302470.html
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum.jspa?forumID=1000000009

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

WOW! It's mindboggling! Thanks for all the work and for sharing your knowledge again.

OT: I have to get this out of my system: "Mind the lorry Richard!"

 

[Hyacinth]

WOW! It's mindboggling! Thanks for all the work and for sharing your knowledge again.

OT: I have to get this out of my system: "Mind the lorry Richard!"

You're welcome, but Daria did most of the research on these numbers. I just copied them.

"I wanted to speak to you, Sheridan dear, before we depart, in case Mummy sinks. I want you to be very stern with the air-sea rescue people. Make it clear to them, dear, what a loss I would be to the cultural life of the community."

"People who try to pretend they're superior make it so much harder for those of us who really are."

But I especially like one of Rose's -

"Men! There's not one of them worth shaving your legs for."

 

[DeafEskie]

Just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for posting these photos. what an AWESOME comparision between genuine and fakes. One more thing y'all forgot to mention. Haven't you guys NOTICED that the genuines vs the fakes....the QUALITY in the coloring of the leather? Coach's is so heavily ingrained with the dye, whereas the fakes tend to be of a lighter more "faded" hue? This can be a very, very difficult one to notice. It can easily even be mistaken. It sure does pay to educate one's self before you actually even start buying the bags!

PSSSST. little tip: Coach's web only exlusive offers/specials....tend to be a lot cheaper than the standard going rate. A lot more affordable especially for those of us who do not feel comfortatble or "justified" in paying $250-$1000 for a bag when the household income is a measly $1900 a month. My mom raised me to be a very extensive bargain hunter. I take great pride in my bargains==especially the BIGG bargains that I succeed in obtaining. Its just a crying shame though... that many "bargains" or deeply discounted products are passed off as genuine, when they are actually pure fakes.

You can find a lot of that at the wholesale dealers too. Which I feel is so unfair and such an injustice to this world, not to mention the designers! I have my own business, so I qualify for a lot of stuff wholesale. Just a crying shame so many people take too much for granted these days.

I look forward (with longing!) to my very first Coach bag. I am pretty picky--HAS to be a style WITH the dogleash....

Thank you again for posting all this info. I believe it is so important to EDUCATE the consumers--especially when hard earned dollars wind up down the drain.

 

[one2many]

This pic was posted way earlier on in this topic. My question is about that little metal ring. I only have Coach wristlets (no bags) but most of them have the hang tag without the metal ring and one of them does have the metal ring. I know my wristlets are authentic so does that mean that Coach makes the hang tags both ways? And on the wristlets I have, the tags without the metal ring do not have the flat topped "A" like in the picture. I'm very curious about that silly little ring.

 

[Hyacinth]

This pic was posted way earlier on in this topic. My question is about that little metal ring. I only have Coach wristlets (no bags) but most of them have the hang tag without the metal ring and one of them does have the metal ring. I know my wristlets are authentic so does that mean that Coach makes the hang tags both ways? And on the wristlets I have, the tags without the metal ring do not have the flat topped "A" like in the picture. I'm very curious about that silly little ring.

This is one of the reasons why I keep saying that "Buying Guides" that make blanket statements about things like grommets, zippers, serial number formats, ec, are NOT TO BE DEPENDED ON. Coach didn't add the grommet to the hangtag until about 4 or 5 years ago. Did the poster say that ALL Coach hangtags should have grommets, or JUST the hangtags on that one particular kind of bag?

Almost every buying Guide I've looked at has mistakes because the writer is copying the info from other guides or because they're only familiar with one or two years of Coach products or because they don't do their research and don't bother to update the information when Coach changes the details. The only way the information in that photo would be valid is if the writer was talking about one specific style of bag.

Don't depend on any of these guides, even the information posted here can be wrong. And just because a detail shows up on one bag, that doesn't mean that all Coaches follow the same "rule". There are very few valid "rules".

 

[one2many]

This is one of the reasons why I keep saying that "Buying Guides" that make blanket statements about things like grommets, zippers, serial number formats, ec, are NOT TO BE DEPENDED ON. Coach didn't add the grommet to the hangtag until about 4 or 5 years ago. Did the poster say that ALL Coach hangtags should have grommets, or JUST the hangtags on that one particular kind of bag?

Almost every buying Guide I've looked at has mistakes because the writer is copying the info from other guides or because they're only familiar with one or two years of Coach products or because they don't do their research and don't bother to update the information when Coach changes the details. The only way the information in that photo would be valid is if the writer was talking about one specific style of bag.

Don't depend on any of these guides, even the information posted here can be wrong. And just because a detail shows up on one bag, that doesn't mean that all Coaches follow the same "rule". There are very few valid "rules".

I see. I guess I was looking for a set in stone set of rules for reals vs. fakes, but as with any company Coach reinvites itself. After seeing so many bags that people say are authentic and that don't have that little grommet I started to question that posting, hence why I asked.

The original writer was using a friends fake bag for demonstrative purposes, not a specific style.

Thanks for that info though. I am very new to Coach. I bought my first Coach wristlet on Oct. 31, 2008 and now have a total of 4 wristlets. I am really enjoying learning about how to spot the fakes.

 

[Hyacinth]

I see. I guess I was looking for a set in stone set of rules for reals vs. fakes, but as with any company Coach reinvites itself. After seeing so many bags that people say are authentic and that don't have that little grommet I started to question that posting, hence why I asked.

The original writer was using a friends fake bag for demonstrative purposes, not a specific style.

Thanks for that info though. I am very new to Coach. I bought my first Coach wristlet on Oct. 31, 2008 and now have a total of 4 wristlets. I am really enjoying learning about how to spot the fakes.

If you go back a few pages to Page 18 and 19, I've posted a lot of information there about Coaches and fakes. And yes, Coach constantly changes the "rules" and there are always exceptions to almost every rule. There's also NO way of proving any Coach is real just because it has a certain feature. The only way to really learn Coaches is by long hard study and keeping your own files with photos, notes, serial numbers, etc.

The only "rules' I've never found exceptions to are:

Coach bags were never made in Korea

Coach serial numbers should never be less than 7 digits long and should never have only 2 digits as the first half of the number.

Coach Patchwork items will always have the same patches on BOTH sides.

And those are the only unbreakable rules I can think of at the moment.

 

[smylez247]

I have a general authenticity question....

Could the same bag be made in 2 different years? I am looking at the 11147 and one bag on ebay shows released in '07 (ex. D0768-11147) and another shows released in '08 (ex. H0868-11147) Is this possible?

 

[Hyacinth]

I have a general authenticity question....

Could the same bag be made in 2 different years? I am looking at the 11147 and one bag on ebay shows released in '07 (ex. D0768-11147) and another shows released in '08 (ex. H0868-11147) Is this possible?

Sure it is - the basic Medium Carly 10619 came out in 2006. The Signature Demi 6094 was introduced in 2000 and just discontinued 2 or 3 years ago. And the leather Station Bag 5130 has been made for the last 25 years - and they're still sold on Coach's website except for the Demi.

 

[khm1234]

Would a serial number of MHJ-9405 automatically be fake because there are three letters (and no numbers) before the hyphen? It's for a flat backpack.

 

[Hyacinth]

It depends on how sure you are that those are the actual digits in the number. In other words, unless you're looking at the actual bag or a very good photograph, you can't always be sure the number's correct. If a seller typed that number into her listing or responded to an ASQ, she may have mis-read a digit or made a mistake typing.

So nothing is automatically fake unless you or someone can see it and verify that it's wrong, especially if reporting a fake is involved. Number 9405 DOES belong to a Flat Backpack, so that increases the odds that the bag may be genuine. If you can post either an auction listing or close clear photos of the actual bag and he creed stamp at the Authenticate This thread, we can take a look.
http://www.coach.com/assets/product_images/drilldown2/9405_d2.jpg

 

[khm1234]

I have the actual backpack so I'm certain those are the correct letters/numbers. I will post pictures on the other thread. Thanks!

 

[sexycombover]

Hi,

I had a question (hope this is the correct thread).
Do signature print Carlys typically have 4 pretty much complete C's across? (not anything more. usually 2 vertical and 2 sideways), or have they come out in "smaller" signature print in older editions (i.e. more than 4 across)?

I got a Carly bag for Christmas, and I'm just a little bit curious cause the print looks off to me. In all honesty, I've never been a Carly girl so I haven't given it much thought until now.

 

[starrymaz]

Hi,

I had a question (hope this is the correct thread).
Do signature print Carlys typically have 4 pretty much complete C's across? (not anything more. usually 2 vertical and 2 sideways), or have they come out in "smaller" signature print in older editions (i.e. more than 4 across)?

I got a Carly bag for Christmas, and I'm just a little bit curious cause the print looks off to me. In all honesty, I've never been a Carly girl so I haven't given it much thought until now.

Do you have the medium or large Carly? The large size signature Carlys have more rows of C's than the medium. The C's on the large are the same size as the ones on the medium (if it's the regular signature print). What size bag is yours? Can you post pictures in the Authenticate This thread?

 

[sassypursefreak]

Disregard- sorry I posted in the wrong authenticate thread.