Vehicle identification number
A vehicle identification number (VIN) (also called a chassis number or frame number) is a unique code, including a serial number, used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles, towed vehicles, motorcycles, scooters and mopeds, as defined by the International Organization for Standardization in ISO 3779 (content and structure) and ISO 4030 (location and attachment).
VIN on a Chinese moped
VIN on a 1996 Porsche 993 GT2
VIN visible in the windshield
VIN recorded on a Chinese vehicle licence
A serial number is a unique identifier used to uniquely identify an item, and is usually assigned incrementally or sequentially.
Traveller's cheques, a kind of insured cash money in form of a paper cheque, are sold to customers in sets having consecutive numbers - one of the very few type of items where consumers have access to "serialized" similar things.
Serial number on a semi-automatic pistol
Serial number of a laptop computer
The RAF serial (XG900) on the Short SC.1