Hobo
http://myfonts.us/td-Y5xnSw

I tried to enhance the image but as you can see the results are poor

Unfortunately a digitization based on it would have to an "inspired by" creation rather than a precise revival.
I am tempted to try it myself, using the more detailed images of the halb-fett italic -- and the MacFarland image, as well as the Literaturnaya Italic -- that I posted for assistance on some of the details of the basic font. But not an endeavor for today.
I do wish you the best of luck in your project.

You hit the jackpot with this one! All the letters -- including swash, correct weights, the works.
I agree it would be worth digitizing, particularly the swash caps.

AKA MacFarland
http://luc.devroye.org/inland/macfarland-italic-inland.png
http://luc.devroye.org/inland/macfarland-inland.png

The matching Roman specimen

Darker appearance in this specimen is perhaps the result of printing bleed, or a heavier weight of the font.

It was probably not a transcription of a specific font, but rather designed in the tradition of the reverse contrast style sometimes called French Clarendon, Barnum, Wild West Wanted Poster etc. that was popular in the second half of the 19th century.There are various fonts in this style but none are an exact match to the VIN letters.

The closest I could find is Bootblack JNL

Found an Italic based at least in part on Romana
Literaturnaya Italic
http://myfonts.us/td-jZz71j

Just guessing, but the _G_ in this image, and the _R_ in your other post, suggests to me that this could perhaps be a true Italic version of a font category called Elzevir in France and Roemisch, Romanisch, Romaans or Romana in Germany, Holland and Switzerland. Popular in the early 20th century. A bold version was known as DeVinne.
AFAIK Nothing digital in the way of a true Italic.
A regular Roman version

If this exists as a digital font you might find it at DTL - Dutch Type Library
http://www.dutchtypelibrary.nl/
Expensive.
An alternative is to edit glyphs in Adobe Caslon Italic, which includes some swash alternatives

Custom.
Some features suggest that this may have been produced by extensive editing of Magneto.

Mixing upper and lower case

We WHisTLe WHiLe We WoRK

Source?
Is this an old auto nameplate?

Made wider

Looks like a pastiche of letters from various Art Deco fonts:
ITC Anna, Paleface Solid etc