Comment by Mike Gann:
How to read ARC catalog numbers. The first figure is the year. The second figure is the month. The third figure is the sequence (or catalog) no. Race and country issues begin with sequence no. 51.
https://www.vjm.biz/robert-johnson.pdf
Comment by cyeaman SUBS:
The second "04" in the catalog number is not a date indicator. It represents the 4th release ARC issued in this series in April 1938.