Strange "M" engraved on a IIIc wartime baseplate

[fuchs]

Hi
has any one of you ever seen this engraving before? This one is engraved *inside* of a "half race" wartime IIIc. Maybe a military (Marine) engraving? Why only in the inside?

Any info or suggestions are really appreciated...

Thank you in advance

Ed Albesi

[k_g_wolf]

Perhaps the bottomplate belonged to - or it was inspected by someone - with the name of MUELLER ...

Important engravings should have been applied to the camerabody, not the bottomplate, IMO. In Jim Lager´s book, I think, I saw such markings. Will look it up when I´am home.


Best

[doubice]

This does not look like an engraving, more like a stamping / embossing. Some technicians marked cameras this way for warranty/identification purposes.

Best,

Jan

[fuchs]

Thank you everyone. Yes, that looks like a cold stamping inside the baseplate. The repairman's seal explanation seems very plausible.

[jc_braconi]

May be this bottom belonged to a 'M' arine body.
Cheers
JC

[fuchs]

Originally Posted by jc_braconi

May be this bottom belonged to a 'M' arine body.
Cheers
JC

The typeface (font) is actually very similar, but it is rather unusual for it to be on the inside of a baseplate, and not in the outside or even on the top plate.

ed a.

[dkpeterborough]

Originally Posted by k_g_wolf

Perhaps the bottomplate belonged to - or it was inspected by someone - with the name of MUELLER ...

Important engravings should have been applied to the camerabody, not the bottomplate, IMO. In Jim Lager´s book, I think, I saw such markings. Will look it up when I´am home.


Best

Agreed ... and with the exception of 50 "M" engraved cameras for which deliveries are documented ( S/N 384351 - 384400) the authenticity of Kriegsmarine Leica cameras is almost impossible to prove ... There is a IIIC described as Kriegsmarine and with an M engraving with Nazi Eagle and Swastika on sale at MW Classic this week ...

http://www.mwclassic.com/acatalog/CI009L.jpg

dunk

[gusossantos]

IIIC postwar "K" in the baseplate.

[fuchs]

After having seen the very interesting pictures (even if gigantic in size) that Gusossantos has posted, I delved in my top- and base-plate drawer and examined each baseplate I own.

Looking for another stamped inside specimen, I stumbled upon three of them.

The first one had a "7" or an "L", the second had an "0", and the third had a nice "V", all stamped near one of the ends. Interesting enough, they are both on LTM or M baseplates.

I then resorted to the local Leica guru, Victor E. Nasello, and asked if he knew of the origin of those stampings. He confirmed what Jan posted, i.e. that they were usually done by repairmen, to recognize cameras they maintained. He also told me that repairmen stopped to do so towards the end of the 1950's, when M cameras became more generalized, as it was easier to stamp a capital letter into the "seal wax" at the lens mount's 12 o' clock screw head.

So here are the stampings I have found: the "O" and the "7" on a short LTM baseplate and the "V" on a long LTM one.

Cheers,