Description
Officially offered from 1959 in very small quantities in black paint, only about 1,410 cameras were produced until the end of production in 1966.
This early black painted Leica M3 dates from 1956 and is equipped with a black painted Summicron-M 2.0/50mm (from 1956).
Both camera and lens pre-date the first officially listed black painted versions and it cannot be fully comprehend whether these are factory conversions from silver chrome to black lacquered or whether this set was already black lacquered at the time of initial delivery.
The top cap is equipped with flash sync contacts of the M4 and later models, the camera has ASA scale up to 1000, metal pressure plate single stroke and silver frame counter.
All in all, there are quite a few features of the third version of the Leica M3 on this camera, which would be a second version according to the serial number.
This has led us to classify the camera and lens as a factory-rebuilt, black-painted set!
Total production: only approx. 1.410 units originally delivered in black paint
Rarity: R8
Rariyt forecast: R8
