Ilovemyspeedmaster.com will give an indication on potential manufacturer date. Not perfect and shouldn’t be counted on - but a good start.
You should also ask yourself are you looking for a watch purchased in a given date range - or manufactured in a given date range. You may find that a watch purchased in 19xx was produced several years earlier.
Also, I believe the st-78s were the last watches to have a year range stamped in the inside of the caseback.
Are you looking for a wearer or a collector watch with all box and papers?
I’d wager a watch is out there close to your budget and time range.
Unfortunately it all comes down to what you place as a priority.(assuming condition is already up there)
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