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I spotted this interesting code stamped into a production plate on this 1990s Mercedes-Benz E300 wagon. The embossed three-digit number codes are the options for the car.

The most interesting part, though, are the hole-punched grid. It has been very difficult to find information on what those codes mean, but I’ve been able to discover that they are 2-of-5 codes, wherein the *spaces* between the punches indicate ones (thick) or zeros (thin), while the *holes* in the last column indicates a check digit, read from top to bottom.

In this case, the six digits appear to be:

11000: 1
11000: 1
00101: 8
10001: 6
10100: 2
01001: 7

Check digit: 01001: 7

The lower-right corner hole seems to be unused.

I don’t know if this exactly right. If you know more information, please reply!