Well, outside places like New York we don't register pistols. There are thousands of firearms out there with no serial numbers. Rifles like the proprietary little .22s Sears and Montgomery Ward used to sell often were not serialized. There are many low end shotguns and pistols without numbers as well. Serials were originally applied as an assembly, inventory, shipping and quality control measure, not as a means to track their ownership. Guns here in the US were not required legally to have a serial number until the Gun Control Act of 1968, but any guns made prior to this are grandfathered in. Any gun transferred which does not have a serial number simply requires a "N/A" in the serial number box. I have done this numerous times with no issues. Issues arise, as John pointed out, if an existing serial number has been damaged or defaced in an attempt to conceal it.
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