In Yasmin Zaher's novel The Coin, the unnamed protagonist, who has inherited a coveted Birkin bag from her mother, enters into a pyramid scheme with a relative stranger that involves buying more of these elusive items and reselling them. In many ways, the Birkin, a luxury handbag made by the French designer Hermès, is the ultimate symbol of upscale contemporary consumer culture, and it is used in Zaher's novel to illustrate the absurdities and artificialities inherent in elite fashion.

While it is now one of the most desired objects on the planet, the Birkin bag's beginnings were somewhat arbitrary and undramatic. It grew out of a 1983 encounter between British-born actor and singer Jane Birkin, who gained fame in France and elsewhere, and Hermès CEO Jean-Louis Dumas. On a flight from Paris to London, Birkin complained to Dumas about how difficult it was to find a suitable handbag. As a young mother, she wanted something stylish that was roomy enough to accommodate her ...