OK, every bit of 7.62x39 ammo in flat grey casings I've ever bought has been advertised as poly coated.
I know all my Golden Tiger in it's shiny brown case is lacquor coated. Is ALL 7.62x39 that appears shiny brown lacquor coated? The Monarch brand stuff I buy from Academy Sports appears to have the same finish as GT. Some Brown Bear I've purchased in the past looked the same as well (shiny brown). But all the new BB I've seen is grey.

For 7.62x39 Brown Bear has switched to a polymer coating, its unfortunate

You sure about that? I just picked up a couple cases of it from SGAmmo last week.  It would be unfortunate if this ends up true but could they not be making both?

That's how it looks according to the Bear ammo website, the stuff SGAmmo has in stock now is definitely polymer.

Historically, it's all over the place. There's probably very little lacquer being produced anymore (thanks ignorant .223 shooters ). The only example I can think of is Golden Tiger, and there isn't any in the country right now.

The best way to determine if it's lacquer or polymer is to examine it. They look different. If ordering online, you may not know until it gets to you.

Well that's why I'm asking, I pick up Monarch from AS on a regular basis and it's still shiny brown like GT. I was under the impression that GT was the only stuff left still lacquored. At 26 cents/round before taxes it's still one of the best deals going in my neighborhood, just kind of a hassle to buy it by the box when I'm going thru it by the crate. I'll occasionally see a tin on the shelf but can't confirm if it's the same stuff as what's in the box.

FYI, CTD has Brown Bear for $113/500 rounds right now and it's advertised as lacquored, the pic shows a shiny brown round in the pic not grey. Maybe it's old stock, maybe CTD is wrong, or maybe like Wolf BB is sourcing from another plant. Normally I'd be buying from SGAmmo but all they have is poly & brass right now, sounds like GT won't be coming for a while so I need to stock up something to keep me from burning thru the last of my GT.

And I thought I saw SGAmmo advertising generic no brand name Barnaul production 7.62x39 not too long ago that looked like it was lacquor coated (shiny brown).

You're still going to see lots of lacquer-coated Barnaul/Brown Bear/Monarch out there for sale (just like you'll still find a lot of Ukrainian ammo on store shelves). Some say it's NOS, some say they're producing both lacquer- and poly-coated cases. Their website is clear as mud. If the ammo your looking at is listed as lacquer-coated then I'd be confident that's just what it is. Even if Barnaul stopped making it, it'll be a while before it disappears completely.

Running a quick search I've found threads going back to 2009 saying no more lacquored Wolf or Bear, all poly. Maybe Wolf made the switch that long ago but I've personally bought shiny brown BB as recently as two years ago. I've no doubt this stuff spends a lot of time sitting on a shelf since it's imported but not 6 years or more.

I did buy a 700rd spam can of Brown Bear for a good price on GunBroker last week. The box says lacquered, I'm debating whether or not to open it to check it out.

Not to de-rail or hijack the thread, but I see everyone calling the lacquered "Brown" in color.  Mine are all green casings that are lacquered.  Am I color blind or have they changed the color? as I stacked it deep a long time ago and haven't bought lacquered in about 10 years; only Polly. Just curious.....

My Brown Bear from CTD is indeed lacquored, and it's marked as such on the sticker with all the production info. Lot # is 81-14, assuming -14 is 2014 production date. Kinda glad I ordered it now, earlier today I hit two Academy Sports and neither had Monarch brand lacquored 7.62x39. Both had plenty of Tula for $5.20/20 round box which is what the old Monarch went for, a few brands of brass 7.62x39, Hornady steel and MFS zinc plated for $9/box. Kinda looks like they dropped the Monarch for the Tula but I'll keep an eye out for it. Monarch 7.62x39 still appears on their website.