Marty's bang on with both. When it comes to origin of manufacture, if it says 'Made in China' they are less than 20 years old - If it says 'Made in Taiwan', they are probably from the 70s or 80s. As for sizing, there are three types - ENglish, American, and French. The ENglish system is also used in Germany and they are about 2 sizes smaller than American shoes, which is also used by Canada. The French system, which is also used by Italy and often Asia (although Asian shoes usually list more than one size, or are sized for their country of export) used the 'Paris Point' system where you have double digit sizing (eg. 44)