82104A Card Reader Serial Number (very old)

[vervalin]

Hi, I recently acquired an 82104A Card Reader Serial Number: 1942A00478

I know how to decode this SN.
So, this unit was manufactured in the 42nd week (Oct 14-19) of 1979.

A couple of things caught my attention:

1) The 5 digit sequence code is 00478
So, were these sequence codes "restarted" with each week of manufacturing or did they just continue to increase through the year with only the "week" code changing?

If the sequence is for the entire year of production, then maybe I have one of the first 500 ever produced :-)

2) Does anyone know the actual release date of the 82104A? I can't find anything other than 1979

Thanks!! Paul