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Old Leica from my grandpa ...

sail222

By sail222
in Leica Collectors & Historica

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jaapv
jaapv

I have merged a number of the recent Russian fake threads into one to keep the forum open to real Leica historica

frasier
frasier

Ok guys ... lesson learned   There is a saying here in Germany that is going like this: "Gier frisst Hirn" (greed is eating brain), which is very true in this case. So shame on me! I bought this fr

jc_braconi
jc_braconi

Have a look at my web site it is free

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pedaes

pedaes

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sail222 - You would need to be an expert and exam the camera carefully to pay this sort of money. I don't see how you can seriously consider this purchase without some truly independent expert advice. The camera may not be what the vendor truly believes it to be.

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luigi bertolotti

luigi bertolotti

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OTOH if the OP wants a black paint camera and is happy to pay $6K for one, just go ahead and buy it.

 

Whatever the exact details of when and how it was painted, you still have the black camera you want.

 

Fact is that for significantly less than that amount I think one can buy a M3 (even, say, in B/C condition), have it mechanically CLAd and finely dechromed and black painted from some specialist (is still active Shintaro ? I seem to remember that Jaap had an odd experience with...) , so resulting in having a very nice camera with a certain origin....

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jaapv

jaapv

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Indeed.It was a beat-up M3 I bought back in 1976 and now it is a very nice near-mint black M3 at the cost of 600$ and three years with a “disappeared” camera… I seem to recall that CRR in Luton will repaint cameras as well.

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dkCambridgeshire

dkCambridgeshire

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Hello friends,

I am new to the forum. I have heard you all are very friendly and helpful here. I thank you in advance. I am interested in purchasing a Leica M3 original black paint. I have found one for sale and when I verify the serial number using your wiki site it shows this following information ..... (898001-903000 Leica M3 (black+chrom-ds}1957 5000) ...... So Im assuming that this serial batch has Chrome M3's and Black M3's produced in the same batch. So my question is .... how do I know that this Black M3 really isn't a Chrome M3 that has been painted black. Is there any more detailed information available that can tell me exactly which M3's were painted black that year? Like I said .... Thank you in advance. Henry

 

If you can post a photo of the camera we might be able to offer an opinion. If it's pristine black with no noticeable paint wear it's likely to be a repaint job. If it's genuinely worn black paint so that brass is showing through then it might be a genuine factory repaint job ... unless it has been artificially distressed to appear as if it's worn paint. If artificially distressed, when examined under a loupe, it's sometimes fairly obvious from the tram lines that it's a Sexton Blake job. Genuine wear would not have deepish wear marks in the paint ... the wear would be smooth looking and not man made with e.g. abrasive. Artificial wear / distressing might not be obvious to the naked eye .. but under a loupe it is.

 

If you access past camera auction records (not Ebay ... the accredited camera auctioneers' websites) and current / forthcoming auctions, there are usually some black M cameras which are described as either original, repaints, factory repaints etc ... and the prices realised and estimates reflect their originality or non-originality. And there are 'umbrella' auction archives where you can search for past camera types sold at auction ... e.g. Live Auctioneers if you register.

 

And beware of faked serial numbers ... it's possible to erase/fill in an old number and engrave a new SN .. or replace the top plate. New unpainted unplated top plates can be sourced if you know where to look .. I just found a supply but for M6 cameras.

 

 

dunk

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sail222

sail222

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Dunk .... Thank you so much for explaining what to look for. I don't have photos of the camera yet .... I am going to look at the camera soon. The gentleman who is selling it is an older man who lives far from me .... So I really want to know what to look for when I go there. If it is a real black double stroke, than I think 6,000 may be a good price .... I just saw on eBay a double stroke in black that sold for $21,211. What exactly are "tram lines" ??? Are they marks made by sandpaper ?? Many thanks again to you all ....

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dkCambridgeshire

dkCambridgeshire

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Dunk .... Thank you so much for explaining what to look for. I don't have photos of the camera yet .... I am going to look at the camera soon. The gentleman who is selling it is an older man who lives far from me .... So I really want to know what to look for when I go there. If it is a real black double stroke, than I think 6,000 may be a good price .... I just saw on eBay a double stroke in black that sold for $21,211. What exactly are "tram lines" ??? Are they marks made by sandpaper ?? Many thanks again to you all ....

 

Tramlines are obvious distressing footprints ... but only really obvious when viewed with a loupe at e.g. 3x magnification. Yes they are the signature of the abrasive used to artificially distress the finish to try and induce false 'Wabi' ... genuine Wabi being prized by some collectors/connoisseurs.

 

dunk

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frasier

frasier

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Hello,

 

I got this camera from my grandpa. It seems to be gold plated and it is in very good condition. Evwn the shutter seems to work just perfect. The body is covered with a material, that looks like wood. On the top plate it reads "Deutsches Reich". On the back you can read "Meine Ehre heißt Treue".

 

I have no idea what the collecters value of this piece is, but I know from looking at Westlicht auctions, that old Leicas can reach pretty high prices among collectors.

 

Does anybody have an idea if this camera has any special meaning or value? Any hints would be very appreciated.

 

Thank you, Jochen

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TomB_tx

TomB_tx

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In spite of the engraving, this is not actually a Leica, but the product of a Russian "cottage industry" that takes Russian made near-copies of Leicas and re-engraves, polishes the brass, etc. There are many detail and shape differences from a real Leica. Check eBay as there are always some for sale there in the $100 range.

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