The three most expensive Leica cameras from a serial production sold at the latest Westlicht auction for a total of €3.6 million:
With a price of 1,680,000 Euro the legendary M3D (opening bid: 150,000 Euros) owned by the LIFE photographer and Picasso intimate David Douglas Duncan is the most expensive camera from a serial production ever. It is the second-highest price ever paid for a camera.
The gold-plated ‘Luxus’ Leica dated 1929, sold for 1,020,000 Euro (opening bid: 70,000 Euro), was the second most expensive camera of the auction.
The very first serial-production M3 (1953, serial number 700001), formerly owned by Willi Stein, chief engineer of Leitz, was sold at a top price of 900,000 Euro (opening bid: 80,000 Euro)
These three cameras are therefore the most expensive cameras produced in a series, ever sold. The camera sold for 1,020,000 Euro at the WestLicht Auction in May was a prototype.
The three Leica MP cameras of the Magnum photographer Paul Fusco achieved sensational 858,000 Euro, more than ten times of the opening bid.
The first Leica owned by the famous Magnum co-founder Robert Capa (8.000 Euro) was worth 78,000 Euro to a collector.
Among the cameras constructed by the Soviets for their planned lunar expeditions and offered for the first time here, the “Arsenal Kiev SKD Space Camera” (10,000 Euro) achieved a price of 57,600 Euro.
Altogether, 92 percent of the camera lots were sold, and the total volume of sales was 8,240,000 Euro.
All prices listed are hammer prices including premiums.
The complete results of the 22nd WestLicht camera auction can be downloaded here.
