As said, it is common to have a tractor where the parts have been exchanged. Seems particularly true with the X00 and X01 series. The five speed tractors were commonly power shifted between third and reverse because one did not have to press down on the shifter to find another range. The result is that many of the five speed transmissions slip out of 3rd gear or reverse. And for that reason, sometimes you see a replacement five speed transmission that isn't the same year as the tractor. And even worse, if the owner didn't care about live PTO and five speed, or have the money to replace/rebuild the original with like capability, they frequently dropped a four speed in and sacrificed the live PTO capability.
That being said, I recently bought an 860 that is part 1955 and part 1957. Transmission, where you find the model/serial number had been replaced on the original 1955 with a 1957 five speed. It's really not an issue until you need to replace parts. Few tractors are all original. The main thing I cared about was that the transmission, whatever year, was strong and did not jump out of 3rd and/or reverse.
The 850 is a five speed, non-live PTO. The 860 is a five speed, live PTO. IF it really has a two stage clutch, and you step down on it half way and the tractor's forward motion stops, but the PTO continues, it is likely a live PTO. That is not a foolproof test, as the farmer could set the clutch up to disable the live PTO. And, the clutches are frequently out of adjustment anyway. Word of caution...check that with some load on the PTO if you can, just to make sure it is not just spinning. I have had a friend just press a 2x4 board against the PTO to make sure.
If you are real A-R you can search the archives about casting numbers and interpret the numbers cast in the cast iron, such as the axle trumpets. Then you may get a better sense of the whole tractor. Even if it is a "frankentractor" like my 860.
Hope I haven't explained so much that it has become confusing.
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