AUTHENTICATE this COACH!
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Hi, sorry don't quite know how to start a thread here...but I was wondering if someone could help me. I have an older Coach purse. Kind of in the style of a binocula/spectator bag but smaller and with a medium losbster claw clasp closure rather than a turn lock. It is 10" wide, 3-1/2" deep and 6-1/2" tall. The stamp says made in New york city, the strap buckle looks good (No "Solid Brass") emboss, the tag looks good, Coach leatherware, all solid brass pieces. BUT...It has No serial number, not even faint, and the main body leather is suspect...feels somewhat pleather or very soft leather. Please Help. Looking for authenticity first, then a name if possible. Thanks in advance! I'm including pics.
WHATEVE, have you ever seen this style with a clip? It looks like the creed is from the 1970s but I don't have a name for it. And could the unusual leather feel in the description be from whatever was used to condition it?
It seems like it should be authentic. I've never seen anything from that era counterfeited. But I have concerns. First I can't find anything that early with a dogleash clip. I have a Coach ad that says the trigger snap (lobster clip) was first used by Coach in 1978. From what we've seen of early bags, the lobster clip was used before the dogleash clip. I can't think of a style made before 1978 that has a clip of any kind.
Secondly, the bag looks to be in too good condition to really be that old. The brass doesn't look antiqued. The leather doesn't look old. Plus the description of it being soft doesn't seem right. The leather I've seen on older bags is usually stiffer. That might be from age or it might have originally been stiffer leather. Usually the leather has a bit of a pebbled appearance.
Thirdly, it seems odd that there would be a binocular style released in the 1970s and then not produced again until the 90s.
Can you post more pictures? I'd like to see the inside pocket and the what the stitching inside looks like. If there is anything stamped on the leather, or you can see white at the edges, I'd like the see that.Hi, sorry don't quite know how to start a thread here...but I was wondering if someone could help me. I have an older Coach purse. Kind of in the style of a binocula/spectator bag but smaller and with a medium losbster claw clasp closure rather than a turn lock. It is 10" wide, 3-1/2" deep and 6-1/2" tall. The stamp says made in New york city, the strap buckle looks good (No "Solid Brass") emboss, the tag looks good, Coach leatherware, all solid brass pieces. BUT...It has No serial number, not even faint, and the main body leather is suspect...feels somewhat pleather or very soft leather. Please Help. Looking for authenticity first, then a name if possible. Thanks in advance! I'm including pics.
Next, can you look at the dogleash clip carefully and see if there is anything stamped on it, maybe an anchor?
How do you know the hardware is solid brass?
What is the suede like inside the bag? Is it very smooth or kind of hairy?
ETA: Can you show the shape of the hangtag and is there anything stamped on the connector of the chain?
Hi, thank you so much thus far. I have carefully looked at this bag and it really looks like it is made with Coach quality, stitching, brass, etc. The dogleash cl;asp is the only part that looks like it may have been polished...and the edges do show some natural wear. This bag was made with quality in mind. The inner zipper pocket has a darker fabric hemmed inner lining where the zipper is attached, as well as the same type of lining inside the inner loops of both of the shoulder strap attachments where they meet the brass pieces. After close examination, the leather is more likely to be leather than pleather...pleather wrinkles and looks cheap, in hand this leather may just be glove type fine leather. The bucket style bottom, and all interior and exterior stitching is really really good, Coach quality. Wow, this is either a quite rare bag or one rare knock off from the 70's. I cannot imagine someone making this bag as a knockoff 20 years later than it would have been made. The stamp is almost certainly authentic minus the serial number from the hundreds of NYC ones I have seen. Maybe I can send it to Coach for authentication? I will not list it for sale until I am absolutely certain that it is authentic....Again, just my 2 cents and thanks for all your time and concern!
It is also possible that it is a later style and there was a mistake in that they forgot to put a serial number on, or it could be a one of kind pilot bag that never went into production. I've never seen a bag like this with any fabric inside. I would like to see that. Is the bag completely lined, or just the pocket?
Did you check the clip and the chain for any marks?
Even if the brass were polished, usually brass this old would show some pitting and wear.
You can't send it to Coach. You could contact Jed Winokur at Coach. He's the archivist and might have some information.
Hi, I am recharging my batteries for my camera...it will take about 20 minutes. Until then I have a few answers to your questions. Dogleash clip: Absolutely nothing stamped on it. I compared it to another dogleash clip from a strap I have from the 80's and it is almost identical. Brass: I am a machinist and know metal...also, a rare earth magnet I use does not want to stick to any of the brass at all...not even a little. The suede inside is very smooth and uniform. I am including pics of the hang tag and it looks exactly like the older 1 piece Coach Leatherwear hang tags that I have seen many of...the stamping is absolutely straight and the hole is perfect and correct. I examined the Ball chain with a 40X Jewelers loupe and I saw what may be (I'm getting older and may be seeing things) a very small shape of an anchor...NO way can I take a picture of it without a stereo microscope...sending pics soon...Thanks SO MUCH!!! I think I'm getting excited now! I HOPE!!!
...nothing stamped in the leather but the creed...NYC...
No lining at all...all suede...with the loupe, the dogleash shows normal pitting...it looks to have been polished...
Thanks. The zipper looks a little short for the opening. Usually Coach zippers go all the way from end to end without very much extra fabric beyond the stops. Is there a stop at the other end, and is it close to the end?
The creed, the white edging inside the pocket, the stitching all look good. I was hoping there would be an anchor on the dogleash clip. I was also hoping the chain would have the words "bead chain" or "ball chain" engraved.
I'm starting to think that it could be a pilot bag that was never meant to be sold and that is why it doesn't have a number. It may have been made later than the lack of a number suggests. The way the flap is lined the leather doesn't look as thick as it was on early bags. The stitching is almost too good and the style is more complex than most early unlined bags. Plus as I mentioned before, I don't believe dogleash clips were used in the 70s by Coach.
Hopefully someone else will recognize it or Jed Winokur from Coach can help solve this mystery!
I am so humbled by your response. I have been involved for a decade of Vintage Coach and Love immensely Vintage Coach workmanship more than most. Strange as I am a guy hahaha. Thank you SO much for your help. If there is any way you can help me get in touch with this Coach Person: Jed Winokur I would be eternally appreciative. Again...Thanks a million for your help! DB
I'm kind of leaning toward it being a Pilot or sample bag too. The details are almost the same as the Binocular Bag 9853 that came out in 1990, and it would also explain the too-short zipper - that's an unusually wide pocket and they might not have had a zipper that fit - and the older creed from 1988 and earlier. Even the hangtags look like they were made in the same time period. It would also explain why they didn't bother giving it a Registration number since it was never really supposed to be sold retail. They were just introducing the new Springlock at that time and they may have wanted to feature it instead of the dogleash clip. As it was, the dogleash clip didn't appear as a closure on bags for maybe another 10 years.
I've posted a few pics of the 1990 Binocular Bag style 9853 and the Spectator version # 6853 below.
I've asked for one or two other opinions, so hang in there.
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