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Vince's site has a lot of very good information on numbers and prefixes. Look this over at this link.
https://www.fordgarage.com/pages/ABenginenumbers.htm
The stars were used before and after the number. A, AA, and AF were common prefixes with the F for right hand drive vehicles and the other two self explanatory. Canadian stuff was different so that has to be checked as well.
Some titles are state issued due to unknown original numbers or changes that required it. Each state has their own regs on that stuff but there is usually a state issued tag that is fixed in accordance with their policy somewhere on the car where it can be seen.
Unfortunately, Ford decided to stamp the frames in a place that requires the body to be lifted just to view it. Plus the fact that engines were bound to be replaced at some point due to deterioration or damage to the block for one reason or another.
Ford also built model A engines for all sorts of agricultural or industrial uses clear up through 1940 and those could have numbers that don't jive with the standard policy.