Depends on what machine and how it was calibrated (what scale) it used. But it appears that on some of the stickers there is a dot indicating that they used the one that (for example) would ahve produced the 1.27 your referring to rather than 12.7 seen when using other tools of the time period. Allot of the stickers I've seen appear that the inspector never took the time to place the "dot" or it has not held up to the test of time and the elements.
Looking at originals, on the ones that are clear enough, it appears the range was between 1.25 and 1.27 normally
Readings around 1.25 are the specific gravity of the battery acid, measured with a hydrometer. For batteries (and for checking coolant in radiators), the syringe-type is used. There are hydrometers that are immersed, but they can't be easily used in a battery or a radiator.
Specific gravity of the acid changes with charge, as does voltage, so they can both be used to check a battery. What's a bit confusing is that with a 12V battery the voltage is numerically about 10x the specific gravity, which makes it look like a misplaced decimal point.
What I don't know is: were batteries always checked for specific gravity, or were some measured with a voltmeter? Were batteries installed at the factory, or at the dealership after delivery? If the battery inspection was performed at the dealerships, was the label applied by the dealer, or at the factory and left blank? Did all dealerships use a standard stamp design to mark the "Badge" column, or did they each use whatever they wanted?
