I see pictures all the time with the serial number blocked out or people putting XXX at the end so as to not say it's actual serial number. Why? Are people that paranoid that the government is going to track down their guns?
Back to the original question, which is a good one...
I know of a couple of folks that have been through a world of hassle because a used gun they bought got run through the LE stolen firearm database and turned up as being stolen a couple of decades earlier. Now, I doubt anybody here would begrudge returning a firearm to somebody who it'd been stolen from - but NOBODY here would enjoy being in the crosshairs of the police until they prove they bought it from somebody else.
“The Savage 99 Pocket Reference”. All models and variations of 1895’s, 1899’s and 99’s covered. Also dates, checkering, engraving.. Find at www.savagelevers.com
