The Third Leica 0-Series Prototype Camera Ever Made Just Sold for Nearly $5 Million
A Leica 0-Series camera from 1923 sold at auction over the weekend for a staggering €4,250,000, or about $4.75 million at current exchange rates.
The Leica 0-Series camera was among many sold on Saturday, October 10, at the eighth Wetzlar Camera Auctions (WCA). It is among the most expensive cameras ever sold at auction.
The historic camera, serial number 103, attracted global interest from well-heeled collectors. Leica’s first prototype was serial number 101, so 103 is an especially early camera. Leica has now produced over six million serialized cameras. The Leica 0-Series No. 103 sold for more than twice its initial pre-auction estimate of €2 million after a 20-minute bidding war.
Manufactured 103 years ago — a lovely coincidence for its serial number — the Leica 0-Series cameras were built as prototypes leading up to Leica’s first commercially available 35mm camera, the Leica I. Only 16 Leica 0-Series cameras are known to survive, all held in museums and private collections. The Leica 0-Series is among the rarest and most coveted cameras in history.
“The Leica 0-Series represents the very beginning of Leica’s remarkable history and is regarded as the holy grail of Leica collecting,” says Lars Netopil, co-owner of Wetzlar Camera Auctions. “The exceptional result for No. 103 reflects its extraordinary historical significance, remarkable originality and outstanding provenance.”
There were a total of 259 lots available in the Wetzlar Camera Auction on Saturday, and some other cameras sold for very large sums. One such camera is a handmade Leica Model A prototype camera that sold for €225,000, or nearly $251,500. This camera served as a link between the 0-Series in 1923 and the final Leica I in 1925.
A beautiful gold-plated Leica I Model C “Luxus” from 1931 sold for €375,000 ($419,184). Fewer than 100 of these cameras were produced, and only two examples of this specific model were made.
A recently uncovered Leitz 24 x 24mm square-format prototype camera, dating to between 1946 and 1948, sold at auction for €137,500, or over $153,000.
A rare prototype Leica M4 made in 1965 also sold for €375,000. This camera has a few handmade components, making it an especially valuable relic. Only two examples of this prototype are known to exist.
As always, Leica black paint cameras and lenses from the 1950s sold for high prices. Black paint Leica gear is always a favorite among collectors, and the recent Wetzlar Camera Auction is no exception. A particularly desirable Leica MP black paint from 1956 sold for €325,000. A very early black paint M3 with a black frame counter sold for €187,500. A Leica MP black paint from 2015, a relatively new camera to be auctioned, still sold for €40,000.
Although Wetzlar Camera Auctions is best known for its Leica lots, the auction includes plenty of non-Leica camera equipment. For example, an extremely rare Soviet-era Arsenal Salyut 1V space camera from 1968 sold for €75,000 (nearly $84,000). It’s a rare and precious part of space history.
“The growing international interest in historic Soviet space photography equipment is particularly fascinating,” says Jo Geier, co-owner of Wetzlar Camera Auctions.
“For decades, cameras associated with NASA missions have attracted strong collector interest. We are now seeing comparable enthusiasm for rare photographic equipment developed for the Soviet space program. The €75,000 result for this remarkable Salyut set underlines that development.”
An extremely rare Nikon Fish-Eye Nikkor 6.2mm f/5.6 prototype lens from 1970, which delivers an absurd 220-degree field of view, also sold for €75,000.
There were many other exciting pieces of photographic history auctioned over the weekend at the eighth Wetzlar Camera Auctions event. The complete catalog is available to browse online.
Image creditsWetzlar Camera Auctions
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