An early Leica with a late number?

[HuubL]

Saw this one at the German peebay: http://cgi.ebay.de/Leitz-Leica-M3-M...ryZ26844QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The seller says it's a 1962 model and the late number supports that, but the screws in the top plate tell me it's an early model? What say you??

 

[colyn]

I suspect that an early crate was put into a late shell with top plate possibly during an overhaul. If that is true then the crate s/n will not match the top plate s/n.

I have heard of this happening..

 

[Roger Hicks]

I suspect that an early crate was put into a late shell with top plate possibly during an overhaul. If that is true then the crate s/n will not match the top plate s/n.

I have heard of this happening..

Or just a 'ringer', made from one camera in good mechanical order and another that was cosmetically better but (for example) with water damage -- that is far from unknown too. Though I am not enough of a rivet-counter to know what screws can be used where.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

Everything about the camera appears late to me except the screws in the topcover. And it appears to have the original wax seal (or a very good facsimile).

There are a few possibilities that come to mind:

1. It was a replacement old-style top engraved by Leica;
2. The screw holes were added because the user/technician preferred them.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

Or (3) the topcover was replaced and someone has an engraving machine (for the serial number) approximating Leica's.

The ad also says it was recently CLA'd.