I have the same dilemma, I used a depth gauge to measure to front of shutter curtain, not wishing to risk damage to chip and found that the very end of the last digit on the 7 digit serial # on my M agreed exactly, whilst this is perhaps not as precise as one might wish, it is close enough for my purposes. Leica seem a bit of a strange mob in some ways, they tend screw up on these kinds of details, my M is the only camera I own that does not have the FP witness mark clearly scribed on the top plate. I also purchased a Really Right Stuff bottom plate, which lens centre marks scribed and incorporates QR machined in, I find this very handy and faster than the standard base plate and I can flip vertical easily.
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