A one-of-a-kind Leica camera has sold for 45 times its estimated value at the first camera auction ever to be held on Chinese soil.
The unique Leica IIIg is covered in olive green vulcanite, features a chrome Elmar 50/2.8 lens, and was made in 1960 as a prototype for a range of cameras designed for the West German Army, the Bundeswehr.
The series never went into production and this model, which remains the only example ever produced, is the only one left and is still in incredible condition.
The camera was auctioned off at the OstLicht Camera Auction in Shanghai, China, with a starting price of €80,000 (around $84,000 / £67,000 / AU$130,000), and was expected to sell for up to €180,000 ($189,000 / £150,000 / AU$291,000).
After a tense 14-minute bidding battle between a trio of interested parties, a long-distance telephone bidder won the auction for the record sum of €3.62 million ($3.79 million / £3.02 million / AU$5.86 million) on November 16.
Other cameras also achieved impressive results. A Leica M3 from 1953, one of the first M cameras produced with the serial number 700008, similarly achieved a record-breaking price of €945,000 ($990,000 / £788,000 / AU$1.53 million). And a black-painted Leica MP-97, sold for €710,000 ($744,000 / £592,000 / AU$1.15 million). On average, the lots were auctioned for five times their starting price.
After 23 years in the vintage camera auction business and 33 WestLicht Photographica Auctions, this was the first event for the spin-off .
Some 75% of the cameras being offered found new owners at the auction, which was held at the Fotografiska Museum in Shanghai. Peter Coeln, the director of OstLicht Auctions, said:
“Realizing this project together with our Chinese partner Lidong-Auctions and Fotografiska Museum was an extremely big challenge and an adventure with an uncertain outcome.
“The 80 or so collectors in the room made this auction a very special event, as did the 150 bidders who took part internationally online and by telephone. We are already looking forward to the challenges ahead.”
Take a look at our guides to the best Leica cameras, the best retro cameras, and the best film cameras.
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