Well besides the bullcrap safety button, I don't really know what has changed in the last ten years of Express model making...My express (ca. 1991) is a heavily and un-aesthetically heavily bead blasted 870. The receiver was never machined fully flat and polished, all the forge-marks (if in fact it's a forged piece, it may be a cast receiver) are visible through the peening from the blast media. And, lo and behold, it was blued. Back then ( a mere ten years ago) folks would talk about the "cheap parkerized" Express, when in reality it was shot-blasted and BLUED. I saw one recently at Walmart, and I swear it is still to this day, bead blasted and hot-tank blued...no powder-coat finishes, no phosphate parking, jez plain ole bluin over a crappy rough finish.
I could be wrong, gentelmens...