Authenticate this COACH

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...I know all of these are authentic, I just need names if anyone remembers them...
I know the green one on the left is from the Coach lightweights collection from about 1989-90, and the brown one is a Skinny Duffel Sac, but the rest? No. Any idea?
 

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I just got off the phone with coach and the lady insisted the serial number was for a blue and brass bag. or brass and blue defiantly not pink. I'm curious how they break down the number as in what part of the number means what. if this lady at coach is correct this bag is a fake and needs to be reported. I'm not a happy camper right now!

Not only can the people (I'd say idiots but I'm trying to be nice) at Coach NOT verify anything over the phone, but there's absolutely NOTHING in a bag's serial number that indicates what color it is!

Would you PLEASE listen to BeenBurned! She knows more about genuine and fake Coaches than all their employees put together. And like she said, NEVER accuse someone of selling a fake until it's proven - by someone who knows what they're talking about. Unfortunately that DOESN'T include the employees of Coach's Customer Service department.
 
...I know all of these are authentic, I just need names if anyone remembers them...
I know the green one on the left is from the Coach lightweights collection from about 1989-90, and the brown one is a Skinny Duffel Sac, but the rest? No. Any idea?

If any of them have serial numbers that include the style number (the serial numbers that start with a letter of the alphabet) that would help.

The light tan one in the center may be a Stewardess Bag but we'd need more photos. The small one at the lower right may be a Mini Belt Bag but without being able to see how the strap attaches, that's just a guess.
 
Item: Brown Madison Gracie
Style number: F4E-4413 “Made in Italy”
Seller: Salvation Army Thrift Store
Size: 7x7x3

Comments: See pictures below, additional pics will be posted with the next message.

I was very surprised to see this little bag at the SA store marked just 2 dollars! I had never seen anything like it and had no idea what it could be - but it seemed genuine to me. That feeling got stronger when I found a small, older style coach dustbag in a different part of the store for 90 cents! I think that they may have come in as part of the same donation.

I hope that you will be able to tell me if it really is an authentic Gracie!

I figured that bag must be missing a long strap because of the loops underneath the flap. Now that I’ve done some research and I know what the strap looks like; I plan to go back there tomorrow to see if I can find it among the belts!

The bag is in great condition, but it is quite dusty (obviously it wasn’t stored in the dustbag!) so I would appreciate any advice you may have for cleaning a pebbled leather bag. I did a search and read that you shouldn’t use conditioner or give it a bath but I’m not sure of the best way to clean or care for it. The interior of the bag is very clean.

Does the F4E mean that it was made in 1994 or 2004? Do you know what the original price was and/or the name of this brown pebbled leather?

I’m very excited to have found this sweet little bag (with dustbag!) for only $2.90! Thanks in advance for your help!
 

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More photos of little Gracie, thank you!
 

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Item: Black City Bag
Style number: G62 9790 “Handcrafted in Turkey” Seller: Salvation Army Thrift Store
Size: 8.5x10.5x4
"YKK" on the zipper pull

Comments: I got this bag at the same time that I found Gracie. It appears genuine to me but I was surprised to read “Handcrafted in Turkey”! I read on this forum that Coach did make some bags in Turkey so I hope it is authentic. If it is genuine, does G62 mean 1996 or 2006?

I will post additional photos with the next message. Thanks again for all your expertise and assistance!
 

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More City Bag pics, TIA!
 

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Item: Brown Madison Gracie
Style number: F4E-4413 “Made in Italy”
Seller: Salvation Army Thrift Store
Size: 7x7x3

Comments: See pictures below, additional pics will be posted with the next message.

I was very surprised to see this little bag at the SA store marked just 2 dollars! I had never seen anything like it and had no idea what it could be - but it seemed genuine to me. That feeling got stronger when I found a small, older style coach dustbag in a different part of the store for 90 cents! I think that they may have come in as part of the same donation.

I hope that you will be able to tell me if it really is an authentic Gracie!

I figured that bag must be missing a long strap because of the loops underneath the flap. Now that I’ve done some research and I know what the strap looks like; I plan to go back there tomorrow to see if I can find it among the belts!

The bag is in great condition, but it is quite dusty (obviously it wasn’t stored in the dustbag!) so I would appreciate any advice you may have for cleaning a pebbled leather bag. I did a search and read that you shouldn’t use conditioner or give it a bath but I’m not sure of the best way to clean or care for it. The interior of the bag is very clean.

Does the F4E mean that it was made in 1994 or 2004? Do you know what the original price was and/or the name of this brown pebbled leather?

I’m very excited to have found this sweet little bag (with dustbag!) for only $2.90! Thanks in advance for your help!


I would ONLY use a soft slightly damp cloth and nothing else on that bag. The creed indicates it's "specially treated" and you don't want to ruin the treatment.

The 4 is 1994...04 would be 2004.

They were expensive bags though I don't recall the prices.



:smile1:
 
More photos of little Gracie, thank you!

The Madison Gracie is genuine. Those were never really faked, as far as I remember. That caviar-type pebbled leather was more than most counterfeiters wanted to deal with.

Hopefully someone will have some cleaing suggestions. One thing you don't want to do is use straight saddle soap or any thick opaque cleaner, because anything that has any kind of color or leaves a visible residue will get into all those "valleys" in the leather and is almost impossible to clean out. Try just a thick fabric with a lot of texture like an old terrycloth towel and just dampen it and gently go over the bag one area at at time. Then gently wipe another old towel over it to dry the bag. Again, that's just a guess but it's the first thing I'd try.

The color may be Beechnut, and the Price when new was $242 in my Holiday 1995 catalog, maybe 5 or 10 dollars less in 1994 when that one was made. The F4E- prefix means it was made in June of 1994 (bags made in 2004 would use "04" instead) and it was made at Coach's plant in Italy (the "E" is the plant code). My post here explains about Coach serial numbers and year codes:
http://forum.purseblog.com/coach-shopping/answers-to-authenticity-questions-94198-3.html#post1944848

Good luck finding the strap!
 
The Madison Gracie is genuine. Those were never really faked, as far as I remember. That caviar-type pebbled leather was more than most counterfeiters wanted to deal with.

Hopefully someone will have some cleaing suggestions. One thing you don't want to do is use straight saddle soap or any thick opaque cleaner, because anything that has any kind of color or leaves a visible residue will get into all those "valleys" in the leather and is almost impossible to clean out. Try just a thick fabric with a lot of texture like an old terrycloth towel and just dampen it and gently go over the bag one area at at time. Then gently wipe another old towel over it to dry the bag. Again, that's just a guess but it's the first thing I'd try.

The color may be Beechnut, and the Price when new was $242 in my Holiday 1995 catalog, maybe 5 or 10 dollars less in 1994 when that one was made. The F4E- prefix means it was made in June of 1994 (bags made in 2004 would use "04" instead) and it was made at Coach's plant in Italy (the "E" is the plant code).

That's fabulous news, thank you! And thank you for all the information, too!
 
More City Bag pics, TIA!

The City Bag looks genuine too, and yes, Coach did make some bags in Turkey.

The year code is for 1996. Coach only started using year codes in serial numbers in 1994, so when they got to 2004 they added a "0" in front of the 4. So genuine bags made before 2004 will only have 3 numbers in the serial prefix, and bags from 2004 and later will have at least 4 digits. The newer ones have five since Coach is now using 2-digit plant codes.
 
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