Early black Nikon F

[johnmshaw]

I have acquired a Black Nikon F body aerial # 6434xxx it has the Nipon Kigali badge and simple finder. It’s very well worn and has some dings along with beautiful natural braising. I have been hunting online and found some info on it, however I can’t figure out the value.
I read the camera quest website and think it may be valuable?
I can’t post photos right now as I don’t have a photo hosting service.
Will try to get some up tomorrow.
Cheers John

 

[jim_jm]

According to the Cameraquest site, only the first 15,000 or so F bodies are of any real interest to collectors. This is probably due to the evolving small design changes that were introduced over the first few years.
I've read that Nikon made about 10,000 bodies by the end of 1959, and yours looks to be from late '60 to early '61, so it's likely somewhere between the first 20,000 - 50,000 made, as production numbers increased each year. There were many minimal differences over the years, this site being a good reference.
I would guess this camera wouldn't have much added sale value over any other black F in similar condition. If the camera is fully functional, your most likely buyer will be a shooter, not a collector. The value of this camera will be determined by it's mechanical and optical condition, not by it's serial number. If it was in excellent cosmetic condition with no major mechanical problems, that would add a lot more. If the plain prism is in good optical condition with no desilvering or chipped glass, that will be a big plus. There are a lot of F prisms out there with bad optics, so undamaged ones are going up in value.
Good Luck!

 

[johnmshaw]

According to the Cameraquest site, only the first 15,000 or so F bodies are of any real interest to collectors. This is probably due to the evolving small design changes that were introduced over the first few years.
I've read that Nikon made about 10,000 bodies by the end of 1959, and yours looks to be from late '60 to early '61, so it's likely somewhere between the first 20,000 - 50,000 made, as production numbers increased each year. There were many minimal differences over the years, this site being a good reference.
I would guess this camera wouldn't have much added sale value over any other black F in similar condition. If the camera is fully functional, your most likely buyer will be a shooter, not a collector. The value of this camera will be determined by it's mechanical and optical condition, not by it's serial number. If it was in excellent cosmetic condition with no major mechanical problems, that would add a lot more. If the plain prism is in good optical condition with no desilvering or chipped glass, that will be a big plus. There are a lot of F prisms out there with bad optics, so undamaged ones are going up in value.
Good Luck!

Thanks Jim, appreciate your information. I agree it’s definitely a shooter and not a collector piece.

 

[steveyork]

I once owned, and later sold a plain prism black 64 (649xxx) in Ex condition. Didn't cost much, maybe a bit more then a early silver body, and the serviced body didn't sell for much either. Cool camera though. Your earlier serial number should draw the collectors. Any Nikon F from '59 will have some interest.

 

[bhop73]

I paid around 250 usd for what sounds like the one you described a couple months ago