Coach Wallet Serial Number
Cris Zander, owner of a San Francisco consignment shop, holds what looks like a gently used Louis Vuitton handbag. But is it real? The answer is at the end of this story. Photo: Wendy S. Goffe
Updated Jan. 4, 2013 with an addendum at the end of this post.
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For example, in the course of reporting the story, Luxury For Less: New Web Sites And Shops Offer Gently Used Designer Goods, Forbes contributor Wendy Goffe bought the handbag pictured above at the San Francisco consignment shop, Cris. The bag says Louis Vuitton on the hardware, and in various spots on the checked pattern. But is it for real?
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Cris Zander, owner of the store that bears her name, wouldn't vouch for the bag, but offered Goffe a full refund of the $500 she spent if it turned out to be a counterfeit. (A comparable Louis Vuitton bag, bought new, would have cost several times that amount.)
We went right to the source, inviting Louis Vuitton to participate in a video at their Fifth Avenue store. Our proposal: have a representative of Louis Vuitton put the bag side by side with the ones in the store, and show us, feature for feature, why it is or is not the real thing.
Our requests to four different Louis Vuitton representatives, over the course of more than a month, went into a black hole. (We did the video anyway, as you can see below.)
[newsincvid id="24041083"]
Attempts to interview other luxury manufacturers about how to spot a fake of their brand were similarly unsuccessful. Coach did not reply. A representative from Kate Spade said no one was available. Goyard passed. And Chanel sent this statement through a spokesperson: "Authentic Chanel products are only available at Chanel boutiques and authorized dealers." When we objected that it obviously wasn't true, the same spokesperson replied by email: "Unfortunately, Chanel has no further comment. Thank you for your understanding."
Sure, counterfeiting is rampant, but a strong resale market is one sign of a brand's strength. So it's too bad companies refuse to help consumers — or talk to the press.
Yes, there's a small handful of third-party companies that provide authentication services, but proceed with caution. A call to one of them indicated that the phone had been disconnected. The company's website required an upfront payment before we could get any information. And there was no indication who was running it, who would be doing the work, and what made that person qualified to offer an opinion.
From the consumer's perspective, there's surely a need for these services, yet very few businesses have seized the opportunity. The reason, says Susan Scafidi, who heads the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School and writes the Counterfeit Chic blog, Is that "there's a huge liability if you get it wrong either way." Designers actively enforce their trademarks, and don't want a fake identified as the real thing. Likewise, if someone is trying to sell the real thing and it's wrongly identified as a fake, they too, could sue. All such lawsuits can be costly to defend.
What's more, if a fake is good, it can be hard for even the company to distinguish it from the real thing, though they have covert, as well as overt, ways of doing that, Scafidi says. For example, the number of stitches per inch in a seam may be a trade secret, and with items like Coach bags that have serial numbers, they can easily tell if it's for real.
Meanwhile, the proliferation of online sites makes it easier than ever to get snookered. They have professional sounding names; include pictures that look like the real thing (those photos may even violate copyright rules); and price merchandise so it looks like they're discounting the real thing, rather than overcharging for a knockoff. As with any online vendor you'll want to consider how long they've been in business; how many previous customers there are; and be suspicious if the seller has plenty of stock in an item that's sold out everywhere else. Good luck getting them to take things back, or expect them to charge a huge restocking fee for the privilege.
You can't necessarily believe what they say about where something came from either. "It was a gift," is all too common an explanation. And though you might want to believe that something fell off a truck or went out the back door of the factory at night, these instances are rare, Scafidi says. Don't be fooled by the presence of a hang tag, either; anyone who can counterfeit a handbag can fake that, too.
What's a fashionista to do? Train your eye to spot a counterfeit by looking at the real thing in person – at a boutique or an authorized dealer, Scafidi advises. Then, before you buy a bag from another source, give it the once over. Here are the features she recommends you consider.
For "How To Spot A Fake Louis Vuitton," click here.
Materials. Not all designer bags are made of leather. For example, Louis Vuitton is coated canvas with leather trim. If the trim is supposed to be leather, it should feel dry — not oily, slippery or sticky. The hardware should be heavy — not hollow. If it's imprinted with the designer's name, make sure it's supposed to be.
Workmanship. The stitching should be perfectly even, with no loose threads or back-and-forth stitching at the end of a seam – that's a sign of sloppy construction. Check the seams for matching--whether of the quilting on a Chanel bag, or the pattern on a Louis Vuitton. A company like Louis Vuitton, which values its logo, wouldn't divide the letters in a seam. And where the pattern appears on either side of the seam, it should match precisely.
Lining.Counterfeiters rarely have a good view of the inside of a bag. Typically they are working from photographs, which tend to distort color. So if you have gone to a boutique and seen the color in person, you immediately have an advantage. It should be precisely the same shade as the real thing--not a close approximation.
Pockets. Here too, it's easy for counterfeiters who are working off photographs, rather than copying the real thing, to get it wrong. Scafidi has a fake Chanel tote on which copyists omitted the pocket on the back, and a Coach on which they included the the back pocket but added a zipper.
Place of manufacture. Some counterfeiters routinely mark Louis Vuitton knockoffs "Made in France." But as it happens, at least one line was made in Spain. An example: a collaboration between Louis Vuitton's creative director Marc Jacobs, and the artist Takashi Murakami featuring cherry blossoms with whimsical smiley-face centers against the company's classic brown toile background.
Misspellings. In her collection of counterfeit bags Scafidi has a Coach labeled "eatherware" (the "L" in the word is omitted). Goyard counterfeiters made an even more egregious error, spelling the company's name "Gooyar" on both the printed canvas of the bag and its dust cover. That's a dead giveaway.
Based on four of these criteria, Scafadi questioned the authenticity of Goffe's Louis Vuitton bag, though she couldn't say for sure whether it was real or fake. The color of the lining isn't true to the original, she noted; the handles don't feel like leather; the pattern matching on the seams isn't perfect; and there is back-and-forth stitching where the seam ends under the tab.
We sent the bag back to Goffe, who made a separate attempt to authenticate it. Without disclosing that she writes for Forbes, she took the bag to the Louis Vuitton store in Seattle and asked if they could repair a scuff on the binding, figuring that they wouldn't touch a knockoff. The saleswoman looked at it closely and said it was the real deal--an older style that is no longer made.
"She inspected it closely (inside, outside, the lining and in the pockets)," Goffe reported, including the serial number pressed into the felt just above the pocket which would indicate where and when the bag was made. "It was worn off so she couldn't read it clearly, but based on the overall wear on the bag, the wear on the serial number was normal." Ordinarily, Louis Vuitton could have redone the piping for $175 but not in this case because the vinyl was cracked, creating the risk of further cracking when they re-piped the seams.
The plot thickened. Could it be that the previous owner had the bag repaired, but not by Louis Vuitton (given how much they charge for those services)? That would explain why the handles weren't made of the same material as the leather tab at the end of the zipper. In an older bag, with leather handles, they would have shown wear. So maybe the owner had the handles replaced with synthetic ones, which are more durable.
All this suggested that the bag was not a counterfeit--instead call it "custom modified." Oh the places it might have been before landing in the San Francisco consignment shop. And if only it could talk!
Addendum: Although the bag can’t speak for itself, three days after this article was published Sally A. Carlson, an executive recruiter with Equinox Search in San Francisco, contacted us to speak for it. Carlson, who says she consigned the bag to Zander late last year, wrote in an e-mail that she bought the bag atthe Louis Vuitton boutique on Union Square in San Francisco in 2007 and that it has never been altered. She also sent us a receipt showing that she paid $1,120 for it.
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For example, in the course of reporting the story, Luxury For Less: New Web Sites And Shops Offer Gently Used Designer Goods, Forbes contributor Wendy Goffe bought the handbag pictured above at the San Francisco consignment shop, Cris. The bag says Louis Vuitton on the hardware, and in various spots on the checked pattern. But is it for real?
Cris Zander, owner of the store that bears her name, wouldn't vouch for the bag, but offered Goffe a full refund of the $500 she spent if it turned out to be a counterfeit. (A comparable Louis Vuitton bag, bought new, would have cost several times that amount.)
We went right to the source, inviting Louis Vuitton to participate in a video at their Fifth Avenue store. Our proposal: have a representative of Louis Vuitton put the bag side by side with the ones in the store, and show us, feature for feature, why it is or is not the real thing.
Our requests to four different Louis Vuitton representatives, over the course of more than a month, went into a black hole. (We did the video anyway, as you can see below.)
[newsincvid]
Attempts to interview other luxury manufacturers about how to spot a fake of their brand were similarly unsuccessful. Coach did not reply. A representative from Kate Spade said no one was available. Goyard passed. And Chanel sent this statement through a spokesperson: 'Authentic Chanel products are only available at Chanel boutiques and authorized dealers.' When we objected that it obviously wasn't true, the same spokesperson replied by email: 'Unfortunately, Chanel has no further comment. Thank you for your understanding.'
Sure, counterfeiting is rampant, but a strong resale market is one sign of a brand's strength. So it's too bad companies refuse to help consumers — or talk to the press.
Yes, there's a small handful of third-party companies that provide authentication services, but proceed with caution. A call to one of them indicated that the phone had been disconnected. The company's website required an upfront payment before we could get any information. And there was no indication who was running it, who would be doing the work, and what made that person qualified to offer an opinion.
From the consumer's perspective, there's surely a need for these services, yet very few businesses have seized the opportunity. The reason, says Susan Scafidi, who heads the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham Law School and writes the Counterfeit Chic blog, Is that 'there's a huge liability if you get it wrong either way.' Designers actively enforce their trademarks, and don't want a fake identified as the real thing. Likewise, if someone is trying to sell the real thing and it's wrongly identified as a fake, they too, could sue. All such lawsuits can be costly to defend.
What's more, if a fake is good, it can be hard for even the company to distinguish it from the real thing, though they have covert, as well as overt, ways of doing that, Scafidi says. For example, the number of stitches per inch in a seam may be a trade secret, and with items like Coach bags that have serial numbers, they can easily tell if it's for real.
Meanwhile, the proliferation of online sites makes it easier than ever to get snookered. They have professional sounding names; include pictures that look like the real thing (those photos may even violate copyright rules); and price merchandise so it looks like they're discounting the real thing, rather than overcharging for a knockoff. As with any online vendor you'll want to consider how long they've been in business; how many previous customers there are; and be suspicious if the seller has plenty of stock in an item that's sold out everywhere else. Good luck getting them to take things back, or expect them to charge a huge restocking fee for the privilege.
You can't necessarily believe what they say about where something came from either. 'It was a gift,' is all too common an explanation. And though you might want to believe that something fell off a truck or went out the back door of the factory at night, these instances are rare, Scafidi says. Don't be fooled by the presence of a hang tag, either; anyone who can counterfeit a handbag can fake that, too.
What's a fashionista to do? Train your eye to spot a counterfeit by looking at the real thing in person – at a boutique or an authorized dealer, Scafidi advises. Then, before you buy a bag from another source, give it the once over. Here are the features she recommends you consider.
For 'How To Spot A Fake Louis Vuitton,' click here.
Materials. Not all designer bags are made of leather. For example, Louis Vuitton is coated canvas with leather trim. If the trim is supposed to be leather, it should feel dry — not oily, slippery or sticky. The hardware should be heavy — not hollow. If it's imprinted with the designer's name, make sure it's supposed to be.
Workmanship. The stitching should be perfectly even, with no loose threads or back-and-forth stitching at the end of a seam – that's a sign of sloppy construction. Check the seams for matching--whether of the quilting on a Chanel bag, or the pattern on a Louis Vuitton. A company like Louis Vuitton, which values its logo, wouldn't divide the letters in a seam. And where the pattern appears on either side of the seam, it should match precisely.
Lining.Counterfeiters rarely have a good view of the inside of a bag. Typically they are working from photographs, which tend to distort color. So if you have gone to a boutique and seen the color in person, you immediately have an advantage. It should be precisely the same shade as the real thing--not a close approximation.
Pockets. Here too, it's easy for counterfeiters who are working off photographs, rather than copying the real thing, to get it wrong. Scafidi has a fake Chanel tote on which copyists omitted the pocket on the back, and a Coach on which they included the the back pocket but added a zipper.
Place of manufacture. Some counterfeiters routinely mark Louis Vuitton knockoffs 'Made in France.' But as it happens, at least one line was made in Spain. An example: a collaboration between Louis Vuitton's creative director Marc Jacobs, and the artist Takashi Murakami featuring cherry blossoms with whimsical smiley-face centers against the company's classic brown toile background.
Misspellings. In her collection of counterfeit bags Scafidi has a Coach labeled 'eatherware' (the 'L' in the word is omitted). Goyard counterfeiters made an even more egregious error, spelling the company's name 'Gooyar' on both the printed canvas of the bag and its dust cover. That's a dead giveaway.
Based on four of these criteria, Scafadi questioned the authenticity of Goffe's Louis Vuitton bag, though she couldn't say for sure whether it was real or fake. The color of the lining isn't true to the original, she noted; the handles don't feel like leather; the pattern matching on the seams isn't perfect; and there is back-and-forth stitching where the seam ends under the tab.
We sent the bag back to Goffe, who made a separate attempt to authenticate it. Without disclosing that she writes for Forbes, she took the bag to the Louis Vuitton store in Seattle and asked if they could repair a scuff on the binding, figuring that they wouldn't touch a knockoff. The saleswoman looked at it closely and said it was the real deal--an older style that is no longer made.
'She inspected it closely (inside, outside, the lining and in the pockets),' Goffe reported, including the serial number pressed into the felt just above the pocket which would indicate where and when the bag was made. 'It was worn off so she couldn't read it clearly, but based on the overall wear on the bag, the wear on the serial number was normal.' Ordinarily, Louis Vuitton could have redone the piping for $175 but not in this case because the vinyl was cracked, creating the risk of further cracking when they re-piped the seams.
The plot thickened. Could it be that the previous owner had the bag repaired, but not by Louis Vuitton (given how much they charge for those services)? That would explain why the handles weren't made of the same material as the leather tab at the end of the zipper. In an older bag, with leather handles, they would have shown wear. So maybe the owner had the handles replaced with synthetic ones, which are more durable.
All this suggested that the bag was not a counterfeit--instead call it 'custom modified.' Oh the places it might have been before landing in the San Francisco consignment shop. And if only it could talk!
Addendum: Although the bag can’t speak for itself, three days after this article was published Sally A. Carlson, an executive recruiter with Equinox Search in San Francisco, contacted us to speak for it. Carlson, who says she consigned the bag to Zander late last year, wrote in an e-mail that she bought the bag atthe Louis Vuitton boutique on Union Square in San Francisco in 2007 and that it has never been altered. She also sent us a receipt showing that she paid $1,120 for it.
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Deborah L. Jacobs, a lawyer and journalist, is the author of Estate Planning Smarts: A Practical, User-Friendly, Action-Oriented Guide. You can follow her articles on Forbes by clicking the red plus sign or the blue Facebook “subscribe” button to the right of her picture above any post. She is also on Twitter and Google+
KNOWN AND COMMON FAKE COACH SERIAL NUMBERS
KNOWN AND COMMON FAKE COACH SERIAL NUMBERS
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To help wade through the counterfeit Coaches for sale, here's a basic guide to some of the most commonly-used fake serial numbers. Many of these show up on older classic leather bags but have been found on new Signature bags and leather bags too. And more will show up every month, so don't think that if a number isn't listed here it must be ok.
Of course there's more to deciding whether or not a Coach bag or other accessory is counterfeit than just the serial number. You also have to look at the construction details like zipper pulls, hardware, stitching, the design and thickness of the straps, the design and font used on the creed stamp or creed patch inside the bag, and especially whether the style number (the numbers to the right of the dash) on the creed actually belongs to that style bag.(Before 1994, most serial numbers were seven numbers long and didn't give any clue to the style name of the bag. After 1994 the last half of the number was actually the style number, and the front half of the number showed where and when the item was made.Coaches made in 1994 or later should begin with a letter from A to M)
Read the creed carefully and look for mistakes in spacing, spelling and punctuation (these don't always prove something is fake but they will 99 times out of 100).
Beware of 'classic' leather bags with sewn-on cell phone holders on the side, another sure sign of a counterfeit.
Beware of any bag whose construction doesn't match the description on the creed patch. For instance, if a creed says that a bag is made of genuine leather and doesn't mention any other type of material but the bag is mostly fabric with leather trim, you're looking at a fake.
And beware of any older bag where the name Coach is stamped on the outside or the flap, especially if it isn't in the lower center of the flap. There are exceptions, but ask someone at the Ebay Purses Board to look at the auction to see if your bag is one of them.
Coach Purse Serial Number Look Up
Also beware of badly-researched or Copied-and-Pasted 'Guides' posted here and at other places on the Net that quote 'Rules' and claim that a certain feature like YKK zippers prove a Coach is real (or fake). Coach has used at least FIVE different brands of zippers and fakes makers can buy real OR fake YKKs so a zipper doesn't prove a thing). Almost all of them are filled with mistakes, outdated info or just plain nonsense. There is NO single detail that can ever prove a Coach is genuine. And those free downloadable 'guides' you sometimes find are worth exactly what you paid for them - zip, zero, zilch. The ones you have to pay for aren't any better, and the links you sometimes find in them to 'sites where you can buy genuine Coach bags' often lead to sites selling fakes. Don't waste a dime or your time on them.
Any question about authenticity should always be asked at Ebay's Shoes Purses and Accessories forum:http://forums.ebay.com/db2/forum/Shoes-Purses-And/1000000009
Please remember, this list is an introduction, NOT a complete list. There are thousands of fakes that won't have any of those numbers, and many fakes, especially newer ones, can have accurate serial numbers. Also remember that no one can say if a bag is genuine just from the serial number! Clear close-up photos of the inside and outside are always needed. A correct serial or style number will never prove that a Coach is genuine, but an INCORRECT number will almost always prove that a bag is fake.
To clarify - the SERIAL number is the entire number shown underneath the stamped creed. All FULL-SIZE bags will have serial numbers, smaller bags might not. STYLE numbers are the 2nd half of the serial on items made after 1994 and are Coach's ID number for that style. Serial numbers containing ALL NUMBERS were made before 1994 and before Coach added the style number to the serial number and can't be used to find the style.
NT-4903 and Other Frequently-used Fake Coach Serial NumbersCOACHES WITH THESE NUMBERS ARE ALWAYS COUNTERFEIT:
NT-4903NT-4908NT-4115NT-4157NT-9992DK-8674TF-6823TN-4136TN-4186TN-9085TN-9096TN-9850TN-9927TN-99514C-86244C-991140-86247H-7456KE-6042JH-9080
ANY Coach bag with only two letters or one number and one letter to the left of the hyphen is fake.
501-20 + all similar numbers starting with 101-, 202-, 501-, 701-, or any other group of 3 numbers with a zero in the middle, followed by 2 or 3 numbers after the dash and usually with a patch that says 'made in Korea' - always counterfeit, no matter how real the leather feels.Coach NEVER made bags in Korea and never used serial numbers with only 5 or 6 digits like this:'xxx-xx' or 'xxx-xxx' and without the abbreviated 'No.' in front of the numbers. Except for a few items with 6-digit serial numbers made and marked for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Coach never used serial numbers with 6 digits or less.
Coach never made 'classic' leather bags with matching sewn-on cell phone holders.
These numbers on PURSES are always fake, these numbers belong only to Travel or Business items (purses with style numbers beginning with 98xx or 99xx are usually genuine).
H4B-0516
H4B-0678
H4B-0517
H4B-0520
H4B-0532
HRB-0516
(The H4B-05xx sequence belonged to travel and business bags and briefcases, not handbags)
012-3445
A5B-3906 - fake Sonoma Double Zip Bags
A8M-4896 - ALWAYS fake and probably wouldn't have been used in a purse
L4C-9941 or LAC-9941
N4H-9920 - always fake, one of the codes is invalid
UOJ-7785 and U0J-7785 - always fake. invalid prefix, found on many Signature bags. The -7785 style number belongs to an all-leather Demi which is also being frequently faked just like the similar Signature Demi style 6094. Both styles need to be looked at carefully.
Any serial number starting with UOJ- or U0J- or any other U0* or UO*- prefix is ALWAYS fake. No exceptions.
M4S-7414 is showing up on quite a few fakes. The entire number is invalid and that style code would never be on a bag with that prefix - ALWAYS fake.
H6S-9135 - always fake, same reasons as M4S-7414
0444-317, 0444-316 AND 0444-315 and possibly others beginning with 0444 - some 'classic' fakes are showing up with these numbers and have a number of mistakes in the creed stamps and on the bags themselves. Assume they're all fake.Any 'classic' leather bags with the # 0444-31(X) and heavy horizontal lines both above and below the numbers is fake.0212-578 and 1212-578 with and without the same fake 'Overstamping' lines have also recently shown up
B5-834-64, YE-02-57-0589, or ANY serial number divided into 3 or 4 parts with spaces or dashes is fake. Coach serial numbers NEVER have more than 2 sections, not counting the 'No' in front of the actual serial number.
00138 - always fake, with or without any numbers or letters in front of it
308-9875 - another number popular with the crooks
308-9937 - probably always fake
233-5678 - probably always fake
DEJ-9816 and ECC-9816 - fake prefix and incorrect suffix, 9816 belongs only to a 'classic' Duffle Sac and DEJ- and EEC- will never appear in genuine Coaches
G7D-8188 - has shown up on several recent fakes, the second part is invalid
L4C-9956 or any style ending in -9956 - every one so far has been fake. The L4C- prefix usually appears in fake Signature fabric bags and so far -9956 has never been seen in a genuine bag.
Any recent (made later than 2004) or current model bag with a serial prefix of M3U- is fake. A genuine bag with this number would only have been made in 2003.
Style number -1202 and other numbers from 1000 to 1300 should NEVER be in a bag or accessory and always indicate a fake. Those low 1000s numbers were only used for stationary items like planner, address book and sketch pad refills
Fake numbers L4C-9941 and LAC-9941 and other combinations ending in 9941 have shown up on a variety of classic-looking leather bags, many with badly wrinkled 'stretch-marked' leather
GAC- and GAG- prefixes have also turned up lately. ANY bag with just three LETTERS to the left of the dash is fake. Be careful not to mistake a Zero in the center position for the letter O though, all bags made in 2000 will have a zero in the center.
NJG- is a commonly-used prefix in fakes and has TWO invalid codes, for the month AND the year.
P7B-4907 - we've seen several Coaches with this serial number. Not only are the bags NOT Sonoma Small Bucket Zips, but the first digit 'P' is completely wrong and would never be used on ANY Coach. Any bag with this serial number is counterfeit.
H6S-9135 - Any bag (especially any in the Hippie Flap style) with a serial number of H6S-9135 should be referred to the posters at Ebay for authentication. The style number belongs only to a Leather Hippie Flap bag but the ones we've seen with this number are either the wrong fabric or have invalid code digits and badly-stamped creeds.
P1L- prefixes have been showing up on mostly Patricia's Legacy bags style # 9951. Enough have been found to add this to the 'always fake' section since 'P' would never have been a valid Coach month code.
A lot of newer style Coaches are showing up with only a 5-digit number after the 'No', either on the same line as the last words of the creed or by itself at the bottom of the patch - number 00138 is the most common. All these are fake. Coach serial numbers will never have only five digits.
T6F-9980 - one of several fake numbers showing up in fake classic Taft Bags. The style number is right but there are invalid codes in the prefix and a serious mistake in the design of the bag - Tafts are frequently faked, have them authenticated
0974-534 - has shown up on at least 2 counterfeit Willis Bags and fakes of other classic leather styles. Any creed stamp with this number is probably fake and needs to be looked at very closely by an expert on older Coaches
04M-5661 or o4M-5661 - ALWAYS FAKE whether the first digit is the letter 'O' or a zero. The first half is invalid and is missing a valid month code, and the style number in the second half should belong ONLY to a multicolor Scribble Tote. (added April 2012)
L05Q-5688 - is another serial number that's been showing up on fakes for several years. For a while in 2009, there were various Bonnie canvas wannabes and leather Lilys that were showing up with this style number. In the last 6 months, copies of scarf print bags, signature demis and styles that never existed have been popping up with the same serial number.
As far as I can tell, style 5688 doesn't exist
L6Z-9966 with creeds that say the bag was made in the United States - another non-existant number that has been showing up not only on fakes of style 9966, the classic leather Legacy Zip, but on other styles too where the style number -9966 doesn't match the bag. Usually the fakes will have small mistakes in the creed, sewing or hardware that an expert can spot, but the real problem is the plant code 'Z' was only used for the Dominican Republic plant and will always show the DR as the country of origin. The year code '6' for 1966 is also too early for that plant.
22096-08 and ALL OTHER serial numbers with only 2 digits at the end, to the right of the dash, are fake, no exceptions. Real Coaches will ALWAYS have at least 3 numbers at the end after the dash.
Serial numbers beginning with the letters ' i ' or with 'N' thru 'Z' are not valid Coach numbers and are almost certainly fake but there ARE a few very rare exceptions. Ask an expert
Recent Coaches with a thick paper tag (usually gray or silver) that says 'Made In Italy' or 'Made In USA' are fakes.
Any bag with a tag or patch that says 'Sports Coach' or 'SportsCoach' is NOT a genuine Coach
There are NO Coach bags that have ever been called 'Bean Bags'. Any Coach purse or small accessory other than a desk paperweight or a leather keyfob that's stamped 'This is a Coach BEAN BAG' is a complete fake. These things are starting to show up again, but NONE of them are genuine.Serial number 056-2040 has shown up in an exceptionally well-copied vintage fake with a 'Bean Bag' creed and may show up on others.,
Coach items with these numbers are ALMOST ALWAYS COUNTERFEITand need to be looked at by an expert:
-4154, -9941, and -9956 are style numbers that have appeared in dozens if not hundreds of proven fakes, and Coaches with any of those numbers should always be assumed to be counterfeit. I've never seen any genuine bag with these style numbers.
M4N-4154 - Anything starting with M4N- is suspect and should be authenticated by an expert.
-4154 style numbers are showing up on a LOT of fakes, usually but not always starting with M4N-, M4H-, N4N-, J8H- or some similar combination. That style number should belong ONLY to an all-leather bag from the Soho line although the style number itself may be a 'blank' like -9956 and may never have been used in an actual purse.
N4H-9920 has started showing up on all-leather fakes. That style number belongs ONLY to a Becket Zip with rather unique strap fastenings - any bag with buckles or dog-leash clips at the strap ends is fake. The Month code is also invalid - watch out for other serial numbers starting with N4H-
K2G-1955, L2G-1955, or ANY bag ending with -1955 which doesn't even seem to be a purse style number.
-10125 has shown up in some fakes but only belongs to a reversible Signature Stripe Tote. This number also often shows up in fakes on its own with no prefix in front.
There are fake Signature Stripe Denim Totes and Signature Stripe Denim Satchels using serial numbers ending in 11192 and 11190. All these bags may be counterfeit.
Serial numbers beginning with the letters N thru Z are not valid Coach numbers and are almost always fake. There are a few very rare exceptions so ask an expert.
,
The following numbers are OFTEN USED ON COUNTERFEITS but can also show up in genuine bags and need to be looked at very carefully:
A2G-6094 and A2J-6094 - or ANY bag ending in 6094 - Fake if it's not a Signature Demi Bag, and there are fakes of that style too. One of the most common fake numbers on 'Foaches'
Look very carefully at classic bags beginning with ' H6M- ' and with 'Made in the United States' at the bottom of the creed, quite a few fakes seem to use this prefix. Creeds stamped 'Made In U.S.A.' instead of 'Made in the United States' should also be looked at carefully.
J4D-4133 - Fake if it's not a classic all-leather Waverly Bag
J8Y- and J4D- prefixes have shown up on some well-copied fakes in both fabric and leather. Bags with this prefix need to be authenticated. Any item with any kind of Signature C fabric having one of these serial prefixes will ALWAYS be fake, no exceptions.
There are some ending in -9927 but aren't Willis Bags, and -5130 sometimes shows up on bags that aren't Station Bags. These styles are often faked and need to be examined carefully.
-10125 is starting to show up as of late 2010 on various Signature and Sig Stripe bags & accessories. That number was only used on a Sig Stripe Tote and most of those were fake too. Always have that style number authenticated.
Style number -40725 has been showing up in fake bags and Swingpacks
M1K-6047 is often used on fakes and any bag with that number needs to be authenticated. Any bag with a style number of -6047 that isn't a fabric Signature Satchel is fake.
The counterfeiters also use many legitimate-looking style numbers (the 2nd half of the serial number) in the serial numbers but on the wrong style bags or accessories - THESE HAVE BEEN USED IN THOUSANDS OF FAKES:-5659 which should only be on a Scribble Tote, about 11x7 with bright multicolor Cs-6094 which should only be on a small Signature Demi, and-1417 which should only be on an East-West Leather duffle. These three numbers are special favorites with counterfeiters and have appeared on thousands of fakes.
Accessories with style #-5077 are fake, that number belongs to an Optic Bee Tote.
J8H-, J8Y- and M4B- prefixes are used in genuine bags but can be possible counterfeits especially if the font of the digits of the serial number seems slightly different. Please have them looked at by an expert - NOT a Coach store employee, many of whom may be Coach lovers but who have no training in recognising fakes, especially older ones. Fakes with these prefixes are usually pretty accurate, and care must be used especially with the J8*- prefix which seems to be a favorite with counterfeiters.
J8Y-4161 is just one of the J8Y- prefix and style number combinations that has been found in several fakes that are NOT #4161 Soho Zip Hobos. EXTREME care must be used with any bags with that number, along with ALL J8Y-, J8H-, and M4B- serial number prefixes. Other prefixes often found in fake as well as real serial numbers: J4D-J6D-J8D-J9H-(modified 11-17-12)
J4N-4082 which belongs only to a Soho Bag from 1994.
D8J- Coaches with serial numbers starting with D8J- especially older bags need to be looked at carefully since fakes have been spotted with this combination.
The following numbers often show up on fakes:
Kumpulan Serial Number Idm
J3J-6818 - belongs to a Soho mini sig flap bag but has shown up on fakes in other styles and on fake Flap Bags
B3K-7022 - should be a denim signature pouch with red stripes center front
MIK-6047 - seen on many fakes in different styles but belongs only to a specific style of Signature Satchel
A05U-1444 - should only be on a Mini Signature Pocket Flap
A05U-1482 - which should only belong to a Small Signature Flap bag with a leather or suede front buckle strap and retainer. Always have any bag with this number authenticated at Ebay's Shoes, Purses and Accessories forum or at thePurseForum, as with any other questionable numbers listed in this Guide.
-9363 style numbers have started to show up on fakes, usually some kind of Signature, Sig Optic or Sig Tie-Dye fabric. On some the creed patch looks a bit 'off' but on others it might look very accurate. The full serial number usually is F04U-9363 but the thing to remember is that any genuine bag with this style and/or serial number should only be a standard Signature C fabric in a Soft East-West Duffle style. Check Ebay for the genuine version, there are usually several listed for sale.
Register Coach Bag Serial Number
'EMB OP PAT LEAH' price tagsNot a fake number, but fakes are showing up with phony price tags showing a variety of different style numbers but with the abbreviated description 'EMB OP PAT LEAH' short for Embossed Op Art Patent Leah.This description should ONLY belong on a patent leather tote or satchel-style bag and most genuine ones would have style numbers of 13178 or 14729
Serial Number Idm Gratis
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Again, this is NOT a complete list of all fake serial numbers. New examples turn up constantly, and many fakes have serials that actually belong the the style the fake bag is copying. And bags made before 1994 don't have the Coach style number as part of the serial number - DON'T try to use the last 3 or 4 digits for authentication if there are NO LETTERS OF THE ALPHABET in the serial number.
Please remember, just because a Coach item seems to have the right style number, or looks just like the picture from Coach's website, or the C's line up correctly, or you found it on Google, OR IT HAS YKK ZIPPERS, that doesn't mean it's genuine.
And just because you haven't seen a certain style before, or you don't like the way it looks, or can't find it on Google, or you don't like it, or think that 'Coach couldn't possibly have made something that ugly', that doesn't mean it's fake.
- Created about 6 years ago