It is stamped, not engraved. On any firearm made or sold in the US after December 31, 1968, it must be on the receiver. Earlier firearms sometimes had it marked on other parts and in the days when each part was hand-fitted at the factory, many had the serial number on several parts.
Example sentence - The machine had a serial number engraved on it.
You will need to take it to gun shows, gun shops.
215180
100-1000 USD
Yes it is illegal to own a gun that does not have a serial number. It is also illegal to remove the serial number off a gun.
Probably a serial number
If you give us the model number and the serial number, we can tell you, and they are both engraved on the gun somewhere. But we need those two things to tell when it was made.
With just the serial number, nothing.
It would be almost impossible to identify a gun just by its serial number.
Generally, the make, model number, serial number, and sometimes the choke is engraved along the left side of the barrel near the receiver. You should be able to find it on yours unless it has been replaced or removed. It's important to record the serial numbers on any gun you buy as it sometimes lets you recover the gun in case it is stolen.
Just by the serial number, no.
Impossible to date a gun with just the serial number and no other informaiton.