Image by Westlight Photographica Auction
On May 28, 2011 a 1923 Leica O-series camera # 107 sold for a staggering record price of $1.9 million. The camera was sold in an auction conducted by West Light Photographica Auction Firm. This is the first German camera that was exported to New York. The camera has the inscriptions “Germany” on the camera.
The camera is completely original and in pristine condition, only its accessories such as the lens were replaced. They only manufactured 25 test cameras of this type making it very rare. It was also only the second camera of this series to ever be auctioned off. The original estimate is that there camera would fetch about $400,000 but by the end of the auction everyone was astonished when it realized a record breaking $1.9 million, making the worlds most expensive camera.
The starting bid was $200,000 Euros but obviously the price realized shocked camera collectors and anyone dealing in collectibles. allegedly, the camera was purchased by an Asian camera collector after almost 25 minute bidding war took place in the auction. This was also the seventh camera produced in the Leica 0-series two years prior to the introduction of this camera series in the market. What makes this camera unique is the engraving of the word “Germany” on the top plate. Apparently, the camera was shipped to the U.S. for patent purposes. Prior to this the most expensive Leica camera in the market was the MP2 which sold in December 2012 for $402,000.