The Last M3 Ever Made - for Sale (at a price!) ...

[M9reno]

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I'm really conflicted. Should I buy that lens or purchase every home on my block, have them all torn down, land plowed flat and with the remaining pocket money build a fantastic castle in the middle. Too many options. Life is tough.

Either way, will you have enough left over for film + processing?

[ironringer]

I have bought Leica items from Setadel Studios and they are a quality dealer in Toronto.

I am more interested in the story of how that camera came to them, than in the camera itself. The travel route and provenance are more fun than the price!

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[Guest]

What was the price for # 700 002? Or 700 003 - 009 if these documented transactions were more recent?

[Guest]

I wonder why Leica does not maintain their tradition of offering a special edition of the last 100 M7, and seeing this item - keep the very last M7 for their museum?

[jaques]

What was the price for # 700 002? Or 700 003 - 009 if these documented transactions were more recent?

I can't remember what 700001 went for... but I owned # 800001 and managed to sell it for 10,000 AUD ;-)

[willeica]

Some things to be 'eating while you're waiting', as we say in Ireland.

 

http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Leitz/M3-chrome-(early,-No.1).html

 

http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Leitz/M3-chrome-(early,-corner).html

 

http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Leitz/M3-chrome-(early,-no-corner).html

 

You need to seek out the actual auction results listed below off each of these links to get a fuller picture.

 

Ultimately, the market will decide what this camera is worth. The market for last and latest models is not as well developed as that for first and earliest models, but this one might set a trend.

 

William

[Hello]

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I wonder why Leica does not maintain their tradition of offering a special edition of the last 100 M7, and seeing this item - keep the very last M7 for their museum?

 

 

As someone who has worked closely with legacy initiatives for a large corporation and one of their worldwide known products, companies often struggle with anticipating and maintaining a grip on significant assets for their own products. Often, they just don't see the future for these specific and special items.

[sabears]

This is not the last M3 made, but the last in CHROME finish.
The very last M3 where built in 1969 in a batch of 38 cameras (1206962-1206999), Olive grun.

[jaapv]

That is interesting - it puts a perspective on the sale.

[luigi bertolotti]

 

This is not the last M3 made, but the last in CHROME finish.

The very last M3 where built in 1969 in a batch of 38 cameras (1206962-1206999), Olive grun.

Yes… but the Bundeswehr maybe isn't interested in cleaning out their old gear   (though… not completely negligible for their budget, at those prices… .. and Uncle Sam did, with KE7A...)

[willeica]

The last consumer model then. As I said earlier, the market for last models is less mature than that for early or first models. A friend of mine tells me that he dealt with Mr March, the original acquirer of this camera, about 40 or 50 years ago when he (my friend) was buying up LFI magazines to complete a collection.

 

William

[wizard]

Objectively speaking, there is nothing special about this "last" M3. At least every other late M3 may be regarded as the "the finest rangefinder if not THE finest camera of all time", as technically there will be no difference between the last one and several thousand of copies made just before the last one. The documentation may be worth something to collectors (it is indeed rare to be able to show that an item is in fact the last produced of a certain type). It will be interesting to learn the final selling price.

 

Andy

[gyoung]

Objectively speaking, there is nothing special about this "last" M3. At least every other late M3 may be regarded as the "the finest rangefinder if not THE finest camera of all time", as technically there will be no difference between the last one and several thousand of copies made just before the last one. The documentation may be worth something to collectors (it is indeed rare to be able to show that an item is in fact the last produced of a certain type). It will be interesting to learn the final selling price.

 

Andy

If you're going to USE the camera there is a difference, the last ones (including mine) don't have the guard round the lens release button, they are like the M2. Makes it a little easier/quicker to change lenses.

 

Gerry

[wizard]

Interesting that you are mentioning this, and proof of the fact that opinions do vary. My own M3, which I use, is from the very last batch that included the guard around the lens release button, and I much like it that way. Never felt that it would impede lens changing. Rather, if holding the body with just one hand while using the other hand to take off and mount the lens, the guard is welcome as an additional support for the finger pressing the lens release button, preventing that finger from slipping off the button. In addition, an M3 without that guard looks somehow incomplete to me, but of course that is just personal preference.

 

Andy

[willeica]

Objectively speaking, there is nothing special about this "last" M3. At least every other late M3 may be regarded as the "the finest rangefinder if not THE finest camera of all time", as technically there will be no difference between the last one and several thousand of copies made just before the last one. The documentation may be worth something to collectors (it is indeed rare to be able to show that an item is in fact the last produced of a certain type). It will be interesting to learn the final selling price.

 

Andy

 

'Finest' in a collecting context means something different to mechanical condition. Of course, it is the same as any M3 made at around the same time, but this being pitched entirely in a different context and the camera, if it is sold, is unlikely to be used for 'street photography' or any other type of photography for that matter. This may offend some people, but that is collectors for you!

 

William

[M9reno]

if it is sold, is unlikely to be used for 'street photography' or any other type of photography for that matter. This may offend some people, but that is collectors for you!

This morning’s British tabloids are running front-page stories of machete-wielding, moped-riding malefactors, all straight out of Mad Max: “Have we lost control of our streets?”

 

These “pirates” will not settle on raiding anything but the best. They are especially keen on late-serial M3s, since these are the “finest” examples of the best camera ever made. But no Leica owner is safe.

[willeica]

This morning’s British tabloids are running front-page stories of machete-wielding, moped-riding malefactors, all straight out of Mad Max: “Have we lost control of our streets?”

 

These “pirates” will not settle on raiding anything but the best. They are especially keen on late-serial M3s, since these are the “finest” examples of the best camera ever made. But no Leica owner is safe.

 

Thanks Alfonso and the worst thing about an M3 is that you cannot even tape over a silly red dot in order to pretend that it is not what it is.

 

Do they let the tabloids into Oxford? All on-line, I suppose.

 

William

Edited June 6, 2018 by willeica

[derleicaman]

I can't remember what 700001 went for... but I owned # 800001 and managed to sell it for 10,000 AUD ;-)

Interesting. I owned # 800 008 at one time. Sold it for a nice premium to someone in the Far East as that is a very lucky number. That was over 20 years ago. I'm sure that would go for really good money today

[Guest]

Personally, if I had that kind of money I wouldn't spend it on the last chrome M3, be looking to sucker someone selling one between 700001 and 700009 for that.

A point to note, the sellers should make it clear that it is not the last M3, just the last chrome one.  Anyone contemplating buying this would know of course, but in the rigid, politically correct world, they are using misleading advertising.

If it was advertised as "The last chrome M3" it would lessen the appeal?  which of course they don't want to happen, and would be worth more than the last black paint M3? What has more appeal, the last chrome M3, the last black paint M3 or the absolute last (olive) M3?

Edited June 8, 2018 by Guest

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[willeica]

Personally, if I had that kind of money I wouldn't spend it on the last chrome M3, be looking to sucker someone selling one between 700001 and 700009 for that.

A point to note, the sellers should make it clear that it is not the last M3, just the last chrome one.  Anyone contemplating buying this would know of course, but in the rigid, politically correct world, they are using misleading advertising.

If it was advertised as "The last chrome M3" it would lessen the appeal?  which of course they don't want to happen, and would be worth more than the last black paint M3? What has more appeal, the last chrome M3, the last black paint M3 or the absolute last (olive) M3?

 

These are questions which only the market can decide. What the rich do with their money is a matter for themselves, assuming they pay their share of tax etc. I think that the marketing here is straightforward with more 'evidence' and 'provenance' than is usually provided. What is not clear is how the market will value this as the market for late/last models is not as developed as that for early/first models. For what it is worth, the first M3 SN 700001 sold for $1,228,500 at Westlicht in 2012. This pales into insignificance when one looks at the prices that are fetched by major art works or even the sale of a Ferrari 250 GTO for $70 million last week.

 

William