I know this a really simple answer but take it to a gun specialist.
They started up again this year.
At the Browning website. Also recently a book has been published on Browning firearms, I forgot the name bit you can probably find it thru Amazon.
The VIN number will identify the year of manufacture.
Go to Browning's site, click on Support then date your firearm.
The 10th digit is the year of manufacture.
The tenth character from the left is the manufacture year.
Your serial number reads 01537pw153.the 2 letters in your serial number(pw) stand for the year 1984.That is the year of your shotguns production.
The 6G prefix dates your shotguns manufacture date to the Year 1966.
What model of browning shotgun are we talking about?I would need to know along with the serial number to date your shotguns year of manufacture.
By the serial number.If you would include this with your question,I could provide the year of Manufacture.
You can contact Remington directly,and use the customer service site to E-mail your shotguns serial number and letter code found on the barrel.They will contact you with the year of production.
there is a dedicated web site for browning auto 5 shotguns, google it.