Quite possible (make that probable) that is has none, and never had one. Serial numbers were not required by law on rifles and shotguns until the 1968 Gun Control Act. Most lower cost shotguns, .22 rifles, etc, did not have serial numbers. While it IS perfectly legal to possess a gun that never had one, it IS a serious violation of Federal law to REMOVE one that is there. I collect older Mossberg .22 rifles from the 30s-40s-50s, and only one out of a dozen has a serial number.
Check the receiver and barrel.
Most J.C. Higgins will sell for under $300. As for serial numbers, I can't find a serial on my 583.55, so I'm going to assume they weren't numbered.
on the receiver Serial numbers were not required on longarms prior to 1969 and most of the manufacturers of utility and 'catalog store' guns did not use them.
Exact year cannot be determined from data given. 583.91 is not a serial number, but a Sears model number.
JC Higgins Model 20 Shotgun does not have a serial number. Guns were not required to have a serial number before 1938
I'm looking for the date of a J.C. Higgins bicycle with the serial number 705495
Tell us a little more. Sears sold a lot of different shotguns and a serial number will not identify it.
Serial numbers on rifles and shotguns were not required until 1968. Most JC Higgins guns made prior to that never HAD a serial number- and yes, it is legal.
Serial numbers are not normally found on the barrel, since by law the receiver (frame) is the gun- and a barrel is just "parts". By any chance is your 30-06 marked "J C Higgins" or "Ted Williams"? If so, that number is the Sears Roebuck model number. Many of the Sears branded rifles and shotguns do not HAVE a serial number- they were not required by US law until 1968. And yes, it is perfectly legal to own a gun that never had a serial number. REMOVING a serial number is not legal.
On the lattigo keeper
the model number is #57158762 and serial number is 7621447
$25