rmckinne Posted July 18, 2010 Share #1 Posted July 18, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am wondering if the unusual serial number on my Leica M3 adds significantly to the value. The number is 1,000,075. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 18, 2010 Posted July 18, 2010 Hi rmckinne, Take a look here Leica M3 1000075. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
luigi bertolotti Posted July 18, 2010 Share #2 Posted July 18, 2010 Is fine... would be better again without the "7"... , anywat, some collectors do love such numbers... the only possible answer is "try with ebay"... ... And welcome to the forum, of course ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryzet Posted July 18, 2010 Share #3 Posted July 18, 2010 yes its unusual. iirc only one was made with this number Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted July 19, 2010 Share #4 Posted July 19, 2010 yes its unusual. iirc only one was made with this number :D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted July 19, 2010 Share #5 Posted July 19, 2010 Condition is more important to a collector, preferably mint and boxed unless the camera has historical significance i.e. previous property of a famous photographer etc. I very much doubt that the number will add anything to the value of a typical used example, although as Luigi has said you might find someone who just 'has to have it' on ebay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmckinne Posted July 19, 2010 Author Share #6 Posted July 19, 2010 I think I will give it a try. I'd like to buy a 35mm Summicron and maybe this M3 will sell for enough to allow me to do this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted July 19, 2010 Share #7 Posted July 19, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) I think I will give it a try. I'd like to buy a 35mm Summicron and maybe this M3 will sell for enough to allow me to do this. Not if you look for a Summicron Asph, I think... even for a used one the price is likely to exceed the value of a M3, though fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted July 19, 2010 Share #8 Posted July 19, 2010 Hello rmckinne, Welcome, By The Way. I would think that just because your name is not Ludwig Leitz or Alfred Eisenstadt that does not mean your camera is just another camera. Please remember, you do have a reasonably unique number and unusual or unique numbers are more attractive to collectors which adds itself to the value as a users camera. Leicas fall in both categories at the same time you know. Some people, by the way, would say that an M-3 is the most usable camera Leitz ever made. Also the best camera they ever made. As per collectors/users cameras there is a certain ammount of mythology/fact related to numbers as there is other things. One of these is your (or at least your camera's) number. There are people who would say that cameras made just before and especially just after (meaning within a few hundred or possibly a few thousand) of the number 1.000.000 are the best M-3's made. Some people would say the cost to Leitz (the company which is called Leica today) of the generation of randefinder in your M-3 was so much greater than the cost of the rangefinder in the M-2 that it accounted for the majority of the difference in the retail price between the two models (approximately 1/3). Also the M-4. Goodbye M-3 randefinder, hello modified M-2. No one, Not even Leica (The current name of the company formerly called Leitz.) builds or would consider building that rangefinder today. Too expensive to build, no market at the price necessary and no people currently available (They retired long ago) to build them. It would probably take years for someone already skilled at building today's state of the art photographic rangefinders to become proficient to the level which already exists in your camera in terms of building new ones. So.... Don't be in such a hurry to get rid of it. The numbers say you will never see, let alone hold in your hand or own, another one in your entire life. Never. As with anything potentially valuable you should research its history and value (I've done a small portion of the history for you. There is more). Then consider, you might ask someone for help first, You may, after all of that, if you don't decide to keep it as a user, collector or possibly (Sometimes.) both, subsequenrly decide to sell it. If so, Try to find a similar one, number as well as condition, and then go from there. Another topic. Take your time please. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted July 19, 2010 Share #9 Posted July 19, 2010 Hello Again, Subsequent thought: Numbers have a magical aspect in peoples lives. For instance: 1.000.000 is an important number in the universe. It is a significant milestone in any company's history. As per the "horsepower race" in any field, whether cameras, watches or anything else, the closer you get to the magical number the more desirable things become. 75 is very, very close. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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