Authenticating: Coach!

In a normal week, I go thrift shopping at least once to buy vintage Coach bags to restore and use or resell them.  That being said, I see a lot of counterfeit merchandise.  I've been buying vintage Coach for about a year and a half now, so I feel like I have gotten authentication down to an art form because I'm to a point where with some bags I can tell it's fake without ever even touching it.  
Keep in mind, this is just a brief overview on authentication.  There is a LOT that goes into it, not just the points that I mention here.  These are some tips that have helped me in my hunt for Coach bags while thrift shopping.  Some of it is just practice in seeing what's real and what's fake.  I also recommend for specific authentication questions, visit the PurseBlog's Authentication Coach forum.
This post is pretty heavy on graphics, so if you're accessing this on a phone I apologize in advance.  Authentication is all about having a keen eye for details, and it's hard to just explain without pictures.

If the bag has a buckle, it should look like this:

This buckle is square and the edges are totally rounded.

Sometimes the buckle is rounded but flat backed, but other times there is a little bump where the buckle attaches to the bag.

If the buckle is flat like this:

or rectangular like this...

It's fake.
(This one is actually also a great example of 2 different tones of hardware too, which is also an indicator of a fake bag!)

Turnlocks are Coach's signature design closures for their bags.  They were first used by Bonnie Cashin in the 1960s and are still used in Coach products today with slight design modifications.  On vintage bags, the part that actually turns should be nice and rounded like this:

If the turnlock is kind of chunky or blocky looking like this:

It's fake.

Or even like this:

It's also fake.

The underside of the turnlock is also a good indicator of authenticity.  It should be flat and smooth like this:

Or like this:

This is from a briefcase and it should look EXACTLY like this.

But if it looks like this:

Or has grooves by the prongs from the front of the turnlock similar to this, it's fake.

There are also some easier ways to spot a fake.  For example, read the stamped creed inside the bag!  Sometimes there will be typos (grammatical and misspellings) and other times no creed at all.  There is a fair amount of variety to the creeds depending on the age of the bag itself.  The oldest bags simply have a tiny metal plate that says "Coach" or a little stamp that says it.  

The format of the serial numbers started at seven digits as XXX-XXXX then later moved to XXXX-XXX.  They have NEVER been shorter than that and since about the mid-2000's have only gotten longer.  Bags with short serial numbers (5 or 6 digits) are usually made in Korea, which is another giveaway a bag is fake.  So many fake Coach bags have come out of Korea that Coach will probably never actually do any bag manufacturing in that country.  Coach bags are/were however made in the United States, Costa Rica, Italy, China, Hungary, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.  Each area has a slightly different texture to the leather.  For example, the older United States bags are very thick and durable, while Costa Rican leather is slightly thinner and smooshy.  (Some collectors have a preference when shopping for vintage bags.)  Bags in Italy are typically pebbled leather, similar to Dooney handbags.  (More on authenticating Dooney in another post!)

Like I said before, this is just a quick overview on how to authenticate.  Hopefully it helps you in your search for a vintage (or new) Coach bag!  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to leave a comment below.  I also recommend looking into the PurseForum's Coach authentication message board.  They have a lot of experts who spend their spare time authenticating bags and are awesome at it!