1959 Leica M3 sells for over $100K – 10x its listing price

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A Leica M3 from 1959 has been sold at auction in Sweden. The auction was held by LP Fotos Auktioner in Stockholm, where the camera was listed with a SEK 110,000 (or around $10,460) asking price.

It seems that somebody wanted this camera really badly, however. The final hammer price was a whopping SEK 1,120,000, or around $106,485.

According to the listing, the winding mechanism of this particular 1959 Leica M3 had been replaced. It had been swapped out for an M4 type winding mechanism. Much of the black paint on the brass had also rubbed away from obvious use.

It’s clearly seen a lot of action.

While $100K is a lot of money to pay for a camera, it’s not the most expensive Leia sold at auction. Not by a long shot. Auctions of several hundred thousand dollars are becoming relatively normal. In 2021, a rare 1957 Leica MP sold for a whopping $1.7 million.

Last year, Oscar Barnack’s personal 0-series 1923 Leica broke a new world record. It sold at the Leitz Photographica Auction for an insane $15 million, smashing the previous $2.51 million record (also a Leica).

[via Kamera Bild]

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