I think the white boxes were used from the early to late 90's, and the silver/black ones from then on. At least in the case of the Noctilux, both white and silver/black box lenses are the same version (last E60 version with built-in, sliding hood).
And these, in turn, should be the same version as the "last 100" Noctilux lenses, despite the lack of an exquisitely handcrafted humidor for packaging. 🙂