Ricoh has Changed the Serial Numbering of the New FA Limited Lenses

See this post at the Chinese Xitek Forum for what is reported and posted:

http://forum.xitek.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1167651&page=1&ordertype=1#pid47747769
(in Simplified Chinese.)

The new s/n is now named as ABCXXXX instead of 00XXXXX of before, where the header ABC is not a zero number anymore, see below for the latest production (left) against an older/previous one (right):


(Click to Enlarge.)

Since the first production of the FA43 back to 1997, the FA Limited lenses are all serial numbered from zero and up. In particular, mine is in 000XXXX, which shows that it is an early production with a s/n in thousands:


(Picture first posted here.)

After all, I think Ricoh really loves very much for changing old Pentax names everything, now even the serial numbering is needed to be changed, even for that of those old Pentax FA Limited lenses! What's next? >:-o But then, what's the real thing that they have really achieved, other than name changing?! >:-\