Leica LTM fake Leica I Elmax 481 on evilbay

Leica M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
Erik van Straten

Erik van Straten

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On e-bay, just a few minutes ago, a fake Leica I, no 481 with Elmax lens realized more than $ 3000.
For comparison I show Leica I no 404. The differences will show that no 481 is a fake.

Erik.
 

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I have had Elmax Nr. 838 a few years ago (a true one), and I cannot see anything wrong with 481.
Is the seller saying it is a fake?
 
I don`t see any real difference either........BUT, then I don`t really know anything about the really early Leitz stuff, my expertise is in the "wartime" Grey painted 1942 to 1945 Leica IIIC models and there`s ton`s of things on them you can fake!!!!

Tom
 
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Hi Erik,

I don't quite get this, I can see that the vucanite is different but that coud be wear and one of the film advance knobs has more bevel than the other but all the screws seem right and the lens lettering is OK. Please let me into the secret

Michael
 
Michael,

I wonder whether there's a "Don't tell the fakers how we spot 'em" mindset out there - I asked a similar question a while back about a coffee-and-cream "Contax" (which would have looked grand on a shelf next to my C3 Matchmatic!), and the thread just carried on around my query.

Not that I'm ever likely to find a Leica, bt it would be nice to know how to spot a fake that doesn't have "To Adolf, love Eva" on the top casing.

Adrian
 
I no longer have a pre 10xxx Leica so have nothing to compare but I take the point about divulging all the little details that go to make up the bigger
picture.

Makes me wonder though, I once owned a standardised 50mm Anastigmat, not great to use but great to sell. Anyone ever seen a standardised Elmax?

By standardised I mean remounted in interchangeable Elmar type mount when the camera was converted. Lettering on the front was 'modernised' also.

Michael
 
I was so angry when I saw this fake going for over $ 3.000, that I forgot to write down the ebay-number. I only downloaded this picture. There were other pictures of it, shown from above, that I later could not find back. These pictures showed at once that it was a fake. OK, the people who bought it were stupid, but for now anybody must watch out for no 481.
When you guys do not see the difference between this fake and a real one, you deserve...
Anything is wrong on this thing. Just compare it carefully to the original I showed beside it.
Anyhow, a true 481 Elmax would realize a lot more, I would say about $ 15.000.

Erik.
 
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The fake was auction 360090690845.

Another (one hopes real) one (s/n 484) was sold by Auction Team Breker, eBay item 360081730500.

Both 404 and 481 have a dimple in the middle of the shutter button, 421 doesn't.
 
Finances prevent me from moving in such exalted circles so at my level the fakers just can't be bothered.

Last week on evilbay UK there was a nice black II with 11 o'clock Elmar. Sold for £350 + which I thought was steep, but it certainly looked good.

What I couldn't understand was that although it was described as unrestored it had clearly previously had strap lugs that had been removed and replaced with tidy black screws. This didn't seem right to me...can anyone cast any light?

Michael
 
Nice camera anyhow, and a very nice lens indeed if the optical cell is OK. I can't read the serial number. This adding and removing of the straplugs remains a mystery. Is there a screw at the other end also? If there is only one screw, then maybe it served some special purpose, but what, I don't know.

Erik.
 
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