1953 m38a1 cdn

[BCA]

Bernard, I got curious about your serial plate; fortunately you posted a good photo. I find it quite unusual - but certainly not to question it's authenticity since it looks very original.
Frank v.R. and others may also notice that there are 3 different type faces used for stamping the serial number.
The most plates have a type face like your "53" date. Notice how delicate and lightly stamped it is. Most plates I have seen have this exact style for the serial number and the date, and are very uniform in spacing and pressure: i.e. machine stamped in one process.
I have looked closely and do not see a Month stamp. However the "2" which is in the space normally used for the Day is a heavy type face: As if it was an after-thought. Also there is a dash before and after the "2" suggesting the original intention of a MM-DD-YY format. One possibility is that the "53" was pre-stamped without a MM-DD. Later only the "2" was added, in which case it may mean either February or the 2nd day of an unknown month.
Finally the F-200578 is definitely a bolder typeface than normal M38CDN and M38A1 CDN serial numbers.
My guess is that the jeep had a problem on the assembly line, was pulled aside and not stamped until it was approved for delivery. At that point a different set of stamps was used and the stamper overlooked assigning a day and only stamped "2' for February.
If you PM me and give me your email address then me then I can send you an image of a typical serial plate.
A most interesting plate and thank you for sharing. .... Brian