Monarch plate mystery...

[Gefloigel]

I posted this on tmf and thought I'd try here. I think it is interesting and needs to be seen by someone who's worked on many monarch machines... 

 

So, I'm working on an earlyish monarch and the predog plate is where the "remove to attach rigid arm" plate usually goes.
So I would just move it to where it belongs... To the side with the hinges across from the winding escutcheon side.

But there's no holes there! Nor any variation in stain oxidation (which anyone who's removed a data plate before understands).
I see that some of the fancy trim has been removed to make space for the data plate.

Has anyone seen a factory cabinet with a misplaced ID label before? 

 

Original placement 

 

 

Closeup of where tag was (with clear difference in fading color). 

 

 

This is where the tag is on other monarchs (see? No holes). 

 

 

Here's the third blank side in case anyone asks. 

 

(The base molding is missing because I have to set the corners of the base and undo an earlier glue mishap on the columns.)

 

Thanks for any input. I dunno where to put the plate when I put it back together without making new holes. 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Gefloigel

[Jerry]

Seeing your posting here, and on the other forum, I'm led to believe that it came from the factory that way. The reason why being lost to history, most likely. If it were mine, I'd put the label back where it was, thinking who am I to redefine its history after 120 years. This way, it a story to tell and makes it unique to every other M.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Jerry

[Gefloigel]

Thanks for the reply. I work hard to eliminate cabinet holes, I'd never add them. 

I more or less suspected that there's a factory explanation, and hoped someone had seen such an oddity before. Maybe someone will find this thread someday and reach out. Take care, 

Dave