[blucar]

You have to remember what is being dealt with in this topic. A 1937 vehicle and a 1954 Bill of Sale. Prior to the advent of computers people paid very little attention to serial numbers on vehicles. Generally speaking the subject only came up when a vehicle was relocated from one state to another.
When I relocated my '36 Ford from Idaho to Nevada in 1954 I had to have the serial number inspected and verified. In 1956 I relocated the '36 to California, the serial number had to be verified in California.
Through an over sight I let the registration expire on the '36 in the early '90's, as a result of California's Non-Op law the car had to be inspected and the serial number verified. In spite of the fact that I had the 1956 CA title, and registration cards from '56 to the date in the early 90's when the registration lapsed, the State of CA wanted me to turn in my 1963 black CA plates, along with the '56 title and registration cards, that was prove that I had owned the black plates since 1963, issuing a new State assigned number title and plates.
Mind you now, the original serial number was clearly stamped into the frame adjacent to the steering gears.
I ended up hiring a DMV Bonded Agent to straighten the matter out, kept the '56 CA title and the 1963 Black CA plates. I had to pay two years of registration as a penalty, then put the car on a Non_Op before the new tags expired.