In *Phantom Menace*, after R2 repairs Amidala's ship and gets everybody safely through the blockade, they're brought in front of the queen to get a commendation.

From the [script][1]:
> QUI-GON, OBI-WAN, CAPTAIN PANAKA, and the LITTLE BLUE DROID stand before
QUEEN AMIDALA and her THREE HANDMAIDENS, PADME, EIRTAE and RABE.

> CAPT. PANAKA : ...An extremely well put together little droid. Without a
doubt, it saved the ship, as well as our lives.

> AMIDALA : It is to be commended...what is its number?

> The LITTLE BLUE DROID lets out a series of bleeps.CAPTAIN PANAKA leans over
and scrapes some dirt off of the side of the DROID and reads the number:

> CAPT. PANAKA : R2-D2, Your Highness.

![](https://i.sstatic.net/Cg1AD.png)

But in the next scene we get a close-up of the same side of R2 and no indication of their number can be seen.

![](https://i.sstatic.net/GkFUQ.png)

**So how did Panaka know R2's serial number? Is there something he did (besides wipe away some dirt) to reveal it?**



[1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20111226003434/http://www.blueharvest.net/scoops/pm-script.shtml