Yep, it can indeed...
Assuming it's a pre-1952 engine,
this page will contain the information you need. Look at the "D" column, read down until the serial number in the cell is bigger than your serial no; your engine was made in the previous year.
If it's a post-52 engine, it'll have a serial number along the lines of XXX D1 NN (with, possibly, some other letters before/after the NN). The "NN" bit is the year of manufacture - 50. e.g. "07" = 1957, 27 = 1977, and so on.
Sometime in the late 1970s I believe they changed the serial number style again, but kept the 2-digit year code.