In order to find the year of manufacture one needs to know the **first two character’s** of the serial number as a minimum, either letters, numbers, or a letter number combination.
Some people are under the belief that all one has to do is “subtract the first two digits of the serial number from 2000 and that is the year of manufacture”. There is some confusion about how Marlin Firearms used their serial numbers to ID the year of manufacture. Marlin rifle with serial number on top stock tang, behind hammer.
