Authenticity Guide
Early to Mid 1960s
No Coach® Creed, No serial number.
Thickest leather grain.
Impression of Coach® logo.
Late 1960s to Early 1970s
Coach® creed, printed in all caps, reads:
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.
In the creed, there should be gaps between the words: “scars, scratches, veins and wrinkles.”
Under the creed in all caps is printed: “MADE IN NEW YORK CITY, U.S.A.”
No serial number.
The Coach® logo is stamped above the creed and the word “LEATHERWARE” is printed in all caps under the word “Coach” within the logo.
All bags that feature the creed but no serial number were manufactured in the original Coach® factory in New York City.
Mid to Late 1970s
Under the Coach® Creed is printed: “MADE IN THE UNITED STATES” or “MADE IN U.S.A.” (This change is because Coach® began to manufacture bags in other locations within the United States, besides New York City.)
Serial number contains seven numbers in the format: xxx-xxxx.
The serial number is unique to each bag and does not correspond to the style number.
A few styles feature “MADE IN U.S.A” printed under the creed and have serial numbers that consist of eight numbers without a dash.
1980s
Coach® Creed is the same as in mid to late 1970s.
Serial number contains seven numbers in the format: xxxx-xxx.
Both the first four digits before the dash and the last three digits after the dash are unique to each bag and do not correspond to the style number.
1994
The creed, printed in all caps, reads:
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 gaps between any of the words in the creed.
The serial number has the format: xxx-xxxx.
The first three characters before the dash indicate the month, year, and location in which that particular bag was manufactured. The first and third characters are letters, and the second character is a numeral.
The four numbers after the dash indicate the bag’s style number.
For example, consider the serial number: F5D-9966. “F” is the 6th letter of alphabet, which indicates that the bag was manufactured during the 6th month of the year: June. “5” represents the year during which the bag was manufactured. “D” indicates that the bag was manufactured in the United States. Thus, you can decipher from the first part of the serial number that the bag was manufactured in the United States during June 1995.
The letters used to represent bags’ countries of origin can vary. It is not crucial to consider this factor when determining the authenticity of a bag.
Before 1994, Coach® assigned style numbers to bags but did not include them in bags’ serial numbers. Therefore, you can find two bags that look the same, but one could have a serial number consisting of arbitrary digits (if it was manufactured before 1994) and the other could have a serial number that indicates the style number (if it was manufactured after 1994).
Tips
You can be quite certain that a bag is inauthentic if you examine its creed and find either: 1) at least one misspelling or 2) at least one word or phrase inconsistent with either of the two versions of the creed above.
Both the size and weight of the Coach® creed’s font vary. Depending on a bag’s country of manufacture and age, the particular alignment of the creed can also vary. (The creed may be justified, aligned left, centered, justified with only the last line, or otherwise.) Therefore, these factors are not reliable indicators of authenticity.
Some smaller Coach® items do not have creeds, including wallets, pouches, cosmetic cases & other small accessories.