Leitz Auction
Starting Price €40,000.00
Estimate
€80,000.00 – 100,000
€80,000.00 – 100,000
This item is subject to VAT at the statutory rate of the respective country of destination on hammer price and premium (full taxation), provided it remains in the EU
Shipping Category B
Shipping Information
Bidding for this Auction
starts on October 29th.
starts on October 29th.
serial number
959401
Condition
B/A
Manufacture Year
1959
Product number
A03674
The Leica M3 is one of the most iconic cameras ever produced by Leica. It was introduced in 1954 at the Photokina fair and quickly became the benchmark for 35mm rangefinder cameras.
Beginning in 1959, Leica started producing small batches of M3 cameras in black paint finish, the first official production batch comprising only 100 cameras with serial numbers 959401–959500. The camera offered here, no. 959401, is the very first example from this historic series. While a few black paint M3 cameras are known from earlier years, these were produced only as special-order cameras and not as part of a regular production batch.
The offered camera remains in excellent cosmetic condition and is in good working order. It retains all the desirable characteristics of the earliest M3 cameras, including the long strap lugs and the all-black base plate.
As the very first camera of the first official black paint M3 production batch, this is arguably the most historically significant black paint Leica M camera we have ever had the privilege to offer at auction.
Beginning in 1959, Leica started producing small batches of M3 cameras in black paint finish, the first official production batch comprising only 100 cameras with serial numbers 959401–959500. The camera offered here, no. 959401, is the very first example from this historic series. While a few black paint M3 cameras are known from earlier years, these were produced only as special-order cameras and not as part of a regular production batch.
The offered camera remains in excellent cosmetic condition and is in good working order. It retains all the desirable characteristics of the earliest M3 cameras, including the long strap lugs and the all-black base plate.
As the very first camera of the first official black paint M3 production batch, this is arguably the most historically significant black paint Leica M camera we have ever had the privilege to offer at auction.