THIS GLUIDE IS MEANT TO HELP YOU DETERMINE IF YOUR COACH HAND BAG IS AUTHENTIC AND NOTHING MORE.

ALL OF THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS BASED ON READING 10 PAGES OF REVIEWS FROM FELLOW EBAYERS ON THIS SUBJECT AND FROM EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON OTHER WEBSITES W/ THIS KIND OF INFORMATION AND THEN CALLING COACH @ 1-888-262-6224 AND COMPARING INFORMATION.

***  PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS JUST A GUIDE. IN DOING RESEARCH FOR THIS GUIDE, THERE SEEMS TO BE EXCEPTIONS TO EVERY RULE. I AM ASSUMING THIS IS ONE METHOD COACH USES TO MAKE COUNTERFEITS HARDER TO MAKE  ***

My first piece of advice is to take advantage of the resources offered to you by COACH.

•  1-888-262-6224 to call COACH anytime you have a question about anything. They will be very happy to help you.
• COACH.COM is the official website and great way to compare their pictures w/ yours. I would suggest typing in the style number in the search box for a quick search of a particular purse.
   Unfortunately, they usually only have a picture of the front side of the purse and do not often (if ever) include a picture of the back side, the bottom, the interior or a very good picture of the hardware on the purse.
• COACH has a tool called the drilldown. Basically, it works like this:
  type or copy/ paste the following link -(coach.com/assets/product_images/drilldown1/5659_d1.jpg) into your browser don't forget to include the www. to the beginning of the previous link - then replace the last four digits (in the example above that would be 5659) with the style number (numbers following the hyphen) for the purse you are researching - hit "go" or "enter" on your keyboard and a picture of the correct style of purse for that number will be supplied by COACH.

???? DID YOU KNOW THIS ????
IF your purse is missing the leather hangtag, you can call COACH and they will replace it for free!!  I read that in a guide, but have not made the call myself so this may or may not be true.

EXTERIOR FABRIC

• COACH HAND BAGS ARE MADE FROM EITHER: (NAPPA) LEATHER, SUEDE, SIGNATURE JACQUARD FABRIC, CRINKLE PATTENT LEATHER, METALLIC COWHIDE, COTTON or a combination of as in their "PATCHWORK" design.
• The above statement based on looking at almost every picture on the COACH website and reading the details of the purse.
• I have seen the word "vachetta" (which is a type of leather) used in ebay listings, but did not see a purse on the COACH website stating that was a material used.
• The material on a COACH purse has been treated to help prevent stains or damage. Water will always roll off an authentic COACH purse. IF WATER SOAKS INTO THE FABRIC, IT IS A FAKE !!

EXTERIOR PATTERN

• IS ALWAYS SYMETRICAL AND EVENLY SPACED - MATCHES ON FRONT AND BACK @ CENTER SEAMS.
• FOLD OVER PART OF PURSE SHOULD ALWAYS DISECT PATTERN EVENLY.
• PATTERN IS ALWAYS IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION AND STARTS @ FRONT PANEL OF PURSE.
• BOTH TIPS OF THE "C" GOING IN THE HORIZONTAL DIRECTION SHOULD ALWAYS TOUCH - THE HORIZONTAL "C" SHOULD ALWAYS BE PAIRD (NOT SINGLE PATTERN).
• Apparently the exception to this rule is the "OPTIC" and/ or "SCARF PRINT"
• AFTER STUDYING THE PICTURES ON THE COACH WEBSITE, IT APPEARS TO ME THAT THE VERTICAL "C" DOES NOT ACTUALLY TOUCH THE HORIZONTAL "C" ON MOST PURSES. THE EXCEPTION TO THE ABOVE STATEMENT IS MULTI-COLORED DESIGNS.

STITCHING

• ALL SEAMS ARE DOUBLE STITCHED.
• ALL SEAMS ARE STITCHED VERY TIGHTLY.
• ALL SEAMS ARE EVENLY SPACED.
• THERE SHOULD BE NO LOOSE SEAMS OR STITCHING.
• SOME GUIDES STATE THAT THERE IS A SEAM THAT RUNS DOWN THE MIDDLE OF ALL PURSES EVENLY DISCETING THE "C" PATTERN. HOWEVER, IN VIEWING MANY PICTURES ON THE COACH WEBSITE, I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS TO BE TRUE IN ALL CASES.

INTERIOR FABRIC - LINING

• INTERIOR LINING SHOULD BE SECURE.
• IF THE OUTSIDE OF THE PURSE HAS A PATTERN, THEN THE INSIDE OF THE PURSE WILL HAVE A PLAIN (OR NO) LINING.
• "LEGACY PURSE" STYLE HAS SAME MULTI-COLORED SILK LINING REGARDLESS OF THE EXTERIOR COLOR OF THE PURSE.
• "COACH CLASSIC" STYLE DO NOT HAVE AN INTERIOR LINING.
• IF THE EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR OF THE PURSE BOTH HAVE A PATTERN, THEN IT IS A FAKE !!

INTERIOR CREED

• HAS ROUNDED - NOT SHARP - EDGES.

• LETTERING IS NEVER MIS-SPELLED - LETTERING IS ALWAYS STRAIGH NEVER CROOKED - CREED SHOULD STATE COUNTRY WHERE PURSE WAS MADE AND EXTERIOR MATERIALS.

• COACH PURSES ARE MADE IN A VARIETY OF COUNTRIES INCLUDING CHINA. IF YOUR PURSE SAYS IT WAS MADE IN THAILAND OR KOREA, IT IS A FAKE !!

• CREED AND NUMBERS ARE ALWAYS CLEARLY & DEEPLY STAMPED - NOT FUZZY or LIGHTLY STAMPED - AND EASY TO READ.
• LEGACY PURSE STYLE HAS GOLD LETTERING OVER STAMPED CREED.
  

• THE NUMBERS ARE ALWAYS BELOW - NOT LEFT, RIGHT, OR ABOVE - THE CREED.

• THERE ARE NEVER ANY SPACES BETWEEN THE NUMBERS.

• HERE ARE A LIST OF SYMBOLS OR LETTERS YOU MAY SEE STAMPED ON YOUR CREED AND WHAT THEY MEAN

• A double bullseye (circle inside a circle) denotes an item that was made specifically for a factory store. I do not know if the warranty applies to items with this mark.

• An "x" or "fs" denotes some type of issue that has occurred after production and mailing. FS means final sale and warranty does not apply to items with this mark.

WHAT DO THE NUMBERS MEAN ??

• IN THE BEGINNING YEARS (1960's) COACH DID NOT USE A SERIAL NUMBER. THEN FROM THE 1970's - early 1990's, THEY USED SERIAL NUMBERS UNIQUE TO EACH PURSE. STARTING IN THE EARLY 90's - PRESENT TIME COACH USES A REGISTRATION NUMBER.
• If your purse has a serial number, it should only be 7 or 8 characters long. The hyphen should be between the 3rd or 4th number.
• The string of letters/ numbers in a registration number will always start off with a letter.
• The numbers following the hyphen refer to the purse style.
• The exact meaning of the numbers before the hyphen are only known to COACH employees. However, basically they denote where the purse was made and in what year.

HARDWARE - PULLS - HANGTAG

• MOST OF THE TIME THE HARDWARE ON THE PURSE WILL BE STAMPED
• The styles that seem to be exceptions to this rule seems are the CLASSIC FAVORITE and LEGACY models. 
• COACH ONLY USES "YKK" ZIPPERS. THE ZIPPER SHOULD BE STAMPED (though not always) "YKK" (very small and hard to find in most cases).
• HARDWARE IS MADE OF GUNMETAL/ NICKEL/ OR BRASS.
• Hardware should have a weight to it.
• Hardware finish should never peel or crack.
• IF HARDWARE IS STAMPED "STAINLESS STEEL" or "SOLID BRASS" IT IS A FAKE !!
• CHAIN COLOR ON HANGTAG MATCHES RIVET COLOR ON HANGTAG.
• FOR PURSES THAT HAVE AN EXTERIOR ZIPPER THERE IS EITHER A LEATHER OR SINGLE OR MULTI CHAIN PULL.
• often (not always) there is a small round button engraved "COACH" on zipper pull
• metal pull rings do not spin and you will not be able to tell where the starting/ ending point of the ring is. IF YOU SEE A WELD ON A RING, IT IS A FAKE !!
• MAGNETIC CLASP SHOULD FIT SECURELY AND IS OFTEN STAMPED WITH THE WORD "ROMA" or "COACH".
• LEATHER HANGTAG COLOR SHOULD BE THE SAME COLOR AS PURSE.
• ENAMEL HANGTAG SHOULD NOT HAVE RAISED LETTERING AND SHOULD BE SMOOTH TO THE TOUCH.
• IF PURSE HAS KEY HOOK, THEN KEY HOOK SHOULD BE THE SAME SIZE AND COLOR AS "O" PULL RINGS.

FACTORY WARRANTY

• COACH HAS A 7 YEAR WARRANTY FROM DATE OF PRODUCTION.
• FOR A COST OF $20 YOU CAN HAVE YOUR HAND BAG REPAIRED OR REFURBISHED AND MAILED BACK TO YOU.
• COACH may have increased their cost or reduced thier services since this guide was written. Please call COACH directly for updated warranty details.

THIS GUIDE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS - FEEL FREE TO MAKE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR CORRECTIONS - I DO PLAN TO MAKE THIS THE BEST REFERENCE SOURCE AVALIABLE ON EBAY IN REGARDS TO COACH HANDBAGS.