Place a piece of tissue paper over the plate and rub gently with charcoal or a pencil. If the plate has faded very badly, try making a rubbing of the imprint. Also, ensure you have read the entire number. Make sure you do not confuse a 7 for a 1. On older tractors, the serial number plate has often faded. This information is generally more useful, because major changes would have been made to a model at the start of the production year, not on January 1. Serial number lists almost always show the production year, not the actual calendar year the tractor was built. A tractor built in October of 1955 would have been considered a '1956' model. The new production year usually starts around September. Tractors, just like automobiles, are manufactured on a model or production year. Tractor serial number, and not one of these other numbers. Various components may have parts or casting numbers.

The engine, front axle, and cab may all have their own serial numbers. There are usually a lot of different numbers on a tractor.

John deere dozer serial number decoder