Thank you,Mark! You just told me how old my little 35 is, that my buddy got me from a yard sale. 2013! It now sports a "rifled" barrel.
The following is what I have on the Daisy 880. I suspect other models will be close to this but the exact changeover dates may well be different. From 1993 on, I need a lot more samples. One letter>Six digits changed to One digit>One letter>Five digits o 1982 Sept. LOT NO. J202705 o 1984 April LOT NO 4D08949 (1983 May 840 LOT NO. 3E21087) One digit>One letter>Five digits changed to Two digits>One letter>Five digits o 1992 Aug., 20th Anniversary 880 LOT NO. 2H03196 o 1992 Dec. LOT NO. 92M15985 (NOT a 20th Anniversary model) Two digits>One letter>Five digits changed to Four digits>Space>Five digits o 1993 Oct., LOT NO. 93K02596 o 1995 Aug. LOT NO. 0895 03612 (this should eventually be shown to have begun 0194 xxxxx) LOT NO. Four digits>Space>Five digits changed to S/N Twelve digits>One letter o 2006 Oct. LOT NO. 1006 12227 o 2013 April S/N 162012430204Q