AUTHENTICATE This COACH

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#9,483
ladyash said:
I LOVE this bag! I didn't know any of them actually had kiss lock coin purses inside! Now I must track one down.

Please post after pictures for us when you finish rehabbing it:
forum.purseblog.com/coach/coach-rehab-and-rescue-club-624452-111.html



Do you know if they came in other colours?

The "classics" currently in stores are complete garbage. I couldn't believe how thin and cheap they felt when I was at the store in Toronto last month. I wanted the lime green satchel one but for that price no way, plus I didn't realize they don't come with cross body straps. I will track down vintage bags forever even if I can't get one in lime green at least the leather is thick and good quality.
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Thanks for your comment - yes, she's a real cutie! I will definitely post pics on the rehab thread when I'm done! Thanks again.
 
#9,484
Hyacinth said:
A few more questions - there's what looks like some kind of oval stamp at the bottom of the creed. Can you tell what it is? Also I'm looking at the second and third photos - is the loose end of the strap what's shown at the upper right corner of photo #2? It looks like there's a squared-off piece of leather there that might be the strap end. And in the same photo, the leather "keeper" the small leather strip that holds the end of the strap after it's gone through the buckle - is it actually going through the loop at the end of the strap where the buckle attaches? If that description isn't clear, please let me know, it's about 2.75 inches down from the top edge of the third photo the way it appears on the tPF page and about 1.75 inches in from the right edge of the photo.

I'd also like to see a pic of the creed and inside pocket showing the top part of the pocket and the zipper - don't worry about getting any close-ups of the zipper itself. There are a few things about that bag that are raising questions in what's left of my brain cells.

A big problem is the plant code - AFAIK "M" was a code used by Costa Rica until that plant was closed in the early 2000s.
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Thanks for your help on this. When I got a look at the bag, the hardware didn't feel right. I have a pocket purse from 1995 and comparing the hardware from that bag to this one the hardware doesn't look or feel like the brass on the bag from 1995. It's definitely not as heavy, so I have my suspicions.

That oval is the impression from the inside hardware.

Yes, that's the end of the strap at the top of picture 2. It's not exactly square, but more rounded at the end. I'll be glad to take a better picture of it if you need to see it.

Yes, the keeper is going through the loop on end of one strap and over/around the other strap.

In the third picture I posted the piece at right that seems to "join" both straps is actually the end of the strap that's coming up in the second picture.

Here's the picture you asked for. If you need any others, please let me know.

Thanks again.
 

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#9,486
Rarity said:
Thanks for your help on this. When I got a look at the bag, the hardware didn't feel right. I have a pocket purse from 1995 and comparing the hardware from that bag to this one the hardware doesn't look or feel like the brass on the bag from 1995. It's definitely not as heavy, so I have my suspicions.

That oval is the impression from the inside hardware.

Yes, that's the end of the strap at the top of picture 2. It's not exactly square, but more rounded at the end. I'll be glad to take a better picture of it if you need to see it.

Yes, the keeper is going through the loop on end of one strap and over/around the other strap.

In the third picture I posted the piece at right that seems to "join" both straps is actually the end of the strap that's coming up in the second picture.

Here's the picture you asked for. If you need any others, please let me know.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the photo.

The creed stamp seems to be just a bit lower on the pocket than it should be but not as bad as I've seen on some fakes. The end of the strap on yours looks strange, and on the other Companion Flaps I've found the "keeper" piece of leather that secures the loose end of the strap is attached through a separate opening sewn into the strap, not through the same opening as the buckle. Here are 2 listings that show close photos of that part of the strap and hardware and you can see the difference in the strap and how it's fastened. Your strap actually seems a bit thicker than the ones in these listings, maybe you can spot other differences:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Coa...096?pt=US_CSA_WH_Handbags&hash=item45fe7ce000
and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTHENIC-CO...460?pt=US_CSA_WH_Handbags&hash=item43ae4248ec

The color worries me a bit too. Coach has often done some limited availability colors but I haven't seen anything quite like that bright blue before in a bag from that time period. It's always hard to use color as an authentication factor but usually bright colors that haven't been seen on other bags from the same year mean you have to be just a bit more careful about authenticating them.

So I can't say for sure either way. There's a chance it may not be genuine, but that works both ways. My advice would be to hope for the best - enjoy the bag and use it as much as you like, but please don't sell it or donate it, "just in case..."
 
#9,488
Hyacinth said:
Thanks for the photo.

The creed stamp seems to be just a bit lower on the pocket than it should be but not as bad as I've seen on some fakes. The end of the strap on yours looks strange, and on the other Companion Flaps I've found the "keeper" piece of leather that secures the loose end of the strap is attached through a separate opening sewn into the strap, not through the same opening as the buckle. Here are 2 listings that show close photos of that part of the strap and hardware and you can see the difference in the strap and how it's fastened. Your strap actually seems a bit thicker than the ones in these listings, maybe you can spot other differences:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Coa...096?pt=US_CSA_WH_Handbags&hash=item45fe7ce000
and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AUTHENIC-CO...460?pt=US_CSA_WH_Handbags&hash=item43ae4248ec

The color worries me a bit too. Coach has often done some limited availability colors but I haven't seen anything quite like that bright blue before in a bag from that time period. It's always hard to use color as an authentication factor but usually bright colors that haven't been seen on other bags from the same year mean you have to be just a bit more careful about authenticating them.

So I can't say for sure either way. There's a chance it may not be genuine, but that works both ways. My advice would be to hope for the best - enjoy the bag and use it as much as you like, but please don't sell it or donate it, "just in case..."
Click to expand...

Thank you! No, I'd never sell anything I wasn't sure was authentic.
I'm going to take a look at the pictures you referenced and compare them to my bag to see what the difference is.

Also, what about the hardware? I'm fairly certain it's not brass. Does that tell you anything one way or the other?

I LOVE the color on this bag, too. Figures. :sad:
 
#9,492
Rarity said:
Thank you! No, I'd never sell anything I wasn't sure was authentic.
I'm going to take a look at the pictures you referenced and compare them to my bag to see what the difference is.

Also, what about the hardware? I'm fairly certain it's not brass. Does that tell you anything one way or the other?

I LOVE the color on this bag, too. Figures. :sad:
Click to expand...

The hardware isn't a big problem since Coach started using nickle hardware in bags released for Spring 1998 so yours just about fits that window. Now if yours is brass-COLORED and not brass that would be a problem.

I know what you mean about the color. Unlike a lot of the newer Signature and other C patterns, a lot of the fake leather bags were in colors that Coach really should have made. :-s
 
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