a numbers game, yeah i guess... is it really worth it though? (i guess it is if you have everything else) i can see why someone will perhaps want a late model stepped IIIc because of bearings/half race/full race ect that is one of your specialty interest areas that you often talk about, nice old style camera with the best features available of the time. but is there any significant differance to a pre-war IIIa to a post war IIIa?
it was clearly favoured by someone, but it still seems very excessive to me. this time last year i was considering a genuine ''Monte' en Sarre'' IIIa which ended up selling for a simular pice, out of those two camera i would prefer the 'Monte...
i guess it doesnt appeal to me as much to have a leica IIIa that was built 13-15 years after they were first introduced (by that time its out of date technology), i would rather have a nice example of an early model, or a 38 IIIb or a 40 IIIc. all the books i have so far seem to indicate the same thing as well in regars to collectors. for buying a camera of those later years i would probably go for the type of cameras you often mention Tom
