Reference
Era × feature matrix
Each row is an authentication feature; each column is an era window. Cells summarize what the feature should look like for that era. Mismatches across cells in the same column are how counterfeits give themselves away — see the Coach Repair caveat for legitimate exceptions.
| Feature | E1 Pre-Cashin 1941–1961 | E2 Cashin 1962–1974 | E3 Early NYC 1975–1984 | E4 Late NYC 1985–1994 | E5 Krakoff transition 1995–2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creed | No creed. Bag has only "COACH" wordmark or none at all. | Earliest creeds appear ~late 1960s. Wording: "Coach Leatherwares®" with NEW YORK CITY line. Cashin-era bags often have no creed at all (see Pre-Creed Era). | "Coach Leatherwares®" with NEW YORK CITY. Late E3 transitions toward LEATHERWARE. | "Coach LEATHERWARE" wordmark from First Use 1973-09 (USPTO 73345984). Through 1994 the country line says NEW YORK CITY. | Country line drops to "Made in [country]" for offshore production. Multiple manufacturing geographies appear in parallel (China, Costa Rica, Italy, India). |
| Hardware | Pre-1964: no brass turnlock — hardware varies (clasps, snaps, buckles). | Brass turnlock from 1964 (US Patent 3,201,162, Fulford Mfg.). Solid brass throughout. Magnet test should fail. | Solid brass continues. Dogleash clip standard. Patina develops; should be honey-amber, not green. | Solid brass continues. Sara Lee era — no significant hardware change. | Krakoff era: hardware diversifies into nickel/silver-tone for some lines. Vintage palette persists in heritage models. |
| Country of origin | Made in U.S.A. (Manhattan loft, then Carlstadt NJ). | Made in U.S.A. (Carlstadt NJ; later 516 W 34th St NYC). | Made in U.S.A. NEW YORK CITY line cited on creed. | Made in U.S.A. through 1994. Sara Lee corporate ownership from July 1985 but US production continues. | Offshore production from 1995 onward: Costa Rica, Mexico, China, India, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Turkey. Lares PR closed April 2002. |
| Serial number | Pre-1961 catalog format: 22-25XXX-NNN. No creed-side serial. | No serial number on creed (creeds rare). Catalog style numbers exist but are not on the bag. | Numeric-only serial. No leading letter. Format roughly NNN-NNNN. | Through ~1993: digit-letter-NNN format. Single-digit-year ambiguity (e.g. "9" could be 1979, 1989, or 1999). | Letter-digit-letter format from ~1994 (e.g. F4D-9876). The leading letter encodes manufacturing facility/quarter. |
| Hangtag | No leather "beanbag" hangtag documented; presentation varies. | — | Beanbag hangtag established. Brass clip attachment. Squarer silhouette early in era. | Beanbag hangtag continues. Attachment shifts include leather strap and plastic-coated wire. Silhouette rounds out. | Beanbag hangtag continues into the offshore era. Replacement hangtags from Coach Repair (Jacksonville FL from July 1999) common on serviced bags. |
| Stitching | — | — | Machine lock-stitch on body and gusset. Hand-finishing on turnlock backplates and strap junctions. | 12 SPI primary anchor (1985 catalog, brand-published). Heavy bonded color-matched thread. Glove-tanned seam binding folded around every edge (1989 catalog brand voice). | Lock-stitch continues. Sub-collections (Sheridan, some Madison) introduce contrast stitching as designed accent. |
| Leather | Glove-tanned cowhide established as company signature. | Glove-tanned cowhide. Bridle leather variants for accessories. | Glove-tanned cowhide. Edges raw or burnished, never painted glossy. | Glove-tanned cowhide. Lightweight Collection (Spring 1989) introduces softer hides; Soho/Sheridan/Berkeley sub-collections expand the palette. | Glove-tanned cowhide continues in heritage line. Krakoff-era diversification: Signature C jacquard, Hamptons line, lighter weights for fashion silhouettes. |
| Lining | Unlined or self-lined (cowhide-on-cowhide). | Unlined or self-lined Cashin convention. Suede-lined Cashin-Carry in select years. | Unlined classic NYC bags; self-lined or suede on select models. | Unlined remains the heritage convention. Sub-collections introduce lined models (Sheridan with cotton twill, Madison with grosgrain). | Lined models become the norm by late 1990s for Krakoff-era silhouettes; heritage line retains unlined construction. |
| Zipper | — | — | Talon zippers dominate. YKK begins to appear late E3. | YKK takes over. Talon largely gone by mid-E4. | YKK throughout. Replacement zippers from Coach Repair common. |
Cells are summaries; click any feature name in the leftmost column for the full entry. The matrix is hand-curated from the authentication entries — corrections welcome via the issues tracker.