Kim,
glad you're back, like the rest of the lot 🙂 !
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Lenswise, this is REALLY an interesting one.
i) When I turn my 1.5/5 Contax Sonnar the other way 'round, there is no number to be seen on the aperture ring whatsoever. So I guess the seller just didn't know what would be important to be seen on the photograph.
ii) The serial number is about the FIRST one I have seen anywhere in the net that complies with the CZJ numbers listed in H. Thiele's reference book. I read 27246X3, and the little ridges on the back clearly seem to be an M39 LTM. What Thiele states is the following:
"CZJ Registry Card #8941: Sonnar f/1.5, 5 cm. Calculated 15-08-39, Lot of 3.000, S/N from 2.724.501 to 2.727.500, Mount: Contax, Production ongoing from: 29-01-43 - partly M39"
iii) No black front ring, small red triangle to be seen in the photo, and small "m" mark on the focus scale according to the seller - all signs of an original lens.
iv) Due to the large amount of Sonnars produced in this serial number range, the pure statistical chance of having one of the survivors in LTM is high.
Hey Roland and all you Zeiss Addicts, we have been discussing Zeiss Jena LTM lenses and their dubious origins for ages in this forum, and here is the first one I would put at least some belief in. THIS could be the HCB Sonnar...
GO FOR IT!
(or else... I'll do!)
Jesko
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2006 AD
800 yrs Dresden
80 yrs Zeiss Ikon
