Pope Francis' Leica camera sells for a thousand times its estimated value!

A silver and white Leica M camera with a matching silver lens rests on a white surface next to a round, silver lens cap engraved with a complex design and a papal coat of arms is visible beneath the camera.

When a Leica M-A bearing serial number 5000000 sold for €6.5 million (around $7.5m /£5.7m) at Vienna's 47th Leitz Photographica Auction this weekend, the buyer wasn't paying for the mechanically controlled shutter or the accompanying Noctilux 50mm f/1.2 lens. They were paying for a story.

The camera, presented to Pope Francis in 2024 by Leica AG, features white leather covering, engravings of the Keys of Peter, and the pontiff's motto Miserando atque eligendo filled with white, gold and black paint.