1OntarioJim,
What I pasted here in this thread came from their website last year. Leupold has since updated their site, but the same information can be found in their FAQ page. You can check it out at:
http://www.leupold.com/hunting-and-shooting/resources/faq/#questionNineAs you can see, it doesn't say anything about a prefix of "NP." I'd suggest that you give Leupold a call and ask for tech support if you want to pursue it. Be sure and let us know what you find out!
And as an aside, in the answer to FAQ #5, "What are the major differences between scope lines?" the last sentence says "Beginning in 2004, the VX-II line is fully multicoated and will perform comparably to the discontinued Vari-X III line."