It's certainly tricky - as you have pointed out , the reissues inevitably refer to the original year of release only.
I've checked several sites re the 2004 anniversary issue and the disc and rear covers seem to match this issue exactly. However, they all have front covers with the white lettering. Interestingly, there is no reference to BMG on the packaging.
Then again, we have the 2003 reissue (82876...) with the BMG label.
Perhaps, the point is the release is intended to look 'retro'?
A little more spade work to be done, methinks...
Yes, a little tricky - there are numerous different issues for this album.
Limiting the possibilities to issues with this international cat no., although it looks older, this is identical to the 2004 15th Anniversary reissue...except that the Anniversary has white lettering on the cover. The other possibility is a 2001 reissue with a similar international cat. no., but not having seen an image of this album, I wouldn't know whether it had the ORE CD 502 cat. no, or indeed what the packaging looks like.
From 2005, reissues, were using 82876...international cat. nos.
For the moment, I would be inclined to plump for 2004 because, the white lettering excepted, the packaging details - cat. nos, codes etc all match.
This edition carries both a UK and a European catalogue number, and has a barcode unlike the 1989 UK Issue.
The date on this is shown as 1989 but I suspect it may be a reissue from a later year. Anyone know?? I bought it second hand (replacing my lost first copy) so that doesn't help.
The booklet is identical to the 1989 UK issue aside from the additional catalogue number on the back.
The front is the same - the back, however, is gold lettering on a black background, unlike the black-on-white UK issue.