Expert: David Silver - 6/6/2011

Question
Hello David

Seeing in the news today that a rare Leica camera has been sold for more than a million has prompted me to do a bit of surfing and
thank goodness I've found you!  I have been charged with the task of finding out how much my deceased godfather's old Leica camera might be worth.  I don't know how old it is, but it is probably in good condition knowing my godfather!

On top of the camera it says Leica DBP, Ernst Leitz GMBH and there is also what I think might be a serial number - M3-732761.  There are also a couple of lens with it.  They all live in a canvas FotoPro camera case.

I'm not really expecting it to be worth a fortune, but that would be a very nice surprise!  At the very least I will be able to cross this off my 'to do' list!

I would appreciate a rough idea as to how much it might be worth.

Many thanks for your expertise in advance and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Sally Wright

Answer


Hello Sally,

Oh, boy.  An original Leica O camera such as that one in the news, from the very first batch of 31 that were assembled by hand in 1923, of which no more than six are known to have survived, and suddenly here was the only one ever made available for purchase in the public sector?  For an item of such extraordinary historical significance, and such nearly unique rarity, you get one chance in a lifetime, only one, and if you're a multi-billionaire sheik in the United Arab Emirates or a multi-millionaire retired businessman in Europe with a deep interest in the history of photography, well, that's how a camera sells for $1,800,000.  I was in the middle of that sale, promoting it both ways and consulting some of the earlier bidders, knowing full well its potential value and powerful significance, but even I was floored by the final selling price.  Absolutely insane.

You, on the other hand, have an example of the most common Leica coupled rangefinder camera ever made, so a million bucks, or any serious percentage of that, is obviously out of the question.  You have a Leica M3, a superb professional quality 35mm coupled rangefinder camera, made by Leitz of Germany in 1955.  Over 225,000 of these were sold from 1954 to 1966, and it is sometimes regarded as the finest mechanical 35mm camera ever conceived.  Your 1954 example is the earliest of four basic variations of the Leica M3, and I'm afraid it's the least desirable for that, having an awkward "double stroke" film advance system and a delicate ceramic pressure plate.  A typical used yet still excellent overall example with an appropriate Leitz 5cm normal lens (most usually a "collapsible" Summicron on this variant) should sell for around $750 today.  However, there can be substantially more value in extra lenses, etc., so I really need to see whatever else you have before I can provide an adequate evaluation.

Go ahead, contact me at the e-mail address below with more information on the rest of the outfit, and include some small pics of everything so I can verify it for myself, and I'll gladly get back to you with a proper appraisal, and recommendations for selling...

Best wishes,

David F. Silver - President
International Photographic Historical Organization

silver@photographyhistory.com