Suspicious Leica IIIc K ?

[Rob-F]

I see a suspicious looking IIIc K on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leica-IIIc-...038261?hash=item33b27f96f5:g:gecAAOSwNSxU95X6

What I don't like is the last zero, which looks poorly engraved. I doubt a Leica would leave the factory that way. Otherwise, I believe it is in the correct serial number range. What do you think?

 

[xayraa33]

I see a suspicious looking IIIc K on eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Leica-IIIc-...038261?hash=item33b27f96f5:g:gecAAOSwNSxU95X6

What I don't like is the last zero, which looks poorly engraved. I doubt a Leica would leave the factory that way. Otherwise, I believe it is in the correct serial number range. What do you think?

The 5 looks worse than the last zero, but it is hard to tell from a photo.
It might be legit.

Leica Tom is the go to expert on these war time stepper IIIc Leicas.

 

[xayraa33]

Ask active member Erik van Straten, he'll know.

LeicaTom hasn't been seen here for ages I think he switched over to vintage Volkswagen collecting...

Leica Tom would still have the expertise on these, if he can be contacted somehow.

 

[enasniearth]

Iiic k

Iiic k

Could be a grey paint camera that was striped and poorly rechromed

 

[Rob-F]

Should we blow the eBay whistle?

 

[xayraa33]

Should we blow the eBay whistle?

We should wait for our in-house war time IIIc experts to chime in first.

 

[newsgrunt]

well an email to Youxin would help clear this up no ?

 

[xayraa33]

well an email to Youxin would help clear this up no ?

Youxin will know how to repair a IIIc even a stepper IIIc, but he will not know the nuances of a war-time stepper IIIc from a pre war one or from a just after the war stepper IIIc and from a few photos online.


Tom Eitnier (LeicaTom on RFF) was the expert in war time stepper IIIc, and there my be a few others here with similar expertise.

Tom had that KOOLGIRLIESTUFF retro pinup photography business in Florida ( if he is still doing that) and might be reached there if he is no longer visiting RFF.

 

[newsgrunt]

seller said Youxin did the cal on the camera so he'd have a better idea on the chrome and engraving. *IF* he did the work and had close look at serial number.

 

[locheeboy]

Towards the end of the war and for some time after, there were many problems with the chroming on Leica cameras. The engraved K looks perfectly fine, though the 0 is a bit wonky...

 

[RF_newbie]

" I do not know the seller and i do not know if he is legit "

Although the serial number is not in any of Lagers books as Grey or K and the shipment number is not in any of his books, i bet it was a grey K and its been defaced of the grey and the curtains were changed so no K curtain.

I've been lucky enough to have had a few of these re chromed K's from grey. They ALL have horrible chrome for some reason. Maybe the re chrome guy was wearing the wrong dress, who knows?

So anyway it is a "K" (Kugellager) camera from the serial number. It like so many of them are just not listed yet in any of today's published books.
But In case you still have any doubts, i sent Lager a note and when he gets back to me tomorrow i will paste his reply and it will probably sound just like the one on the auction, or close to it.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I agree it looks like it's been rechromed. Could it have been done as a post-war "upgrade" from a grey-paint?

Leica Tom is still active on Facebook, he comments in the Vintage Camera Collectors group sometime. I could shoot hime a message with the link.

 

[sevo]

I agree it looks like it's been rechromed. Could it have been done as a post-war "upgrade" from a grey-paint?

Leitz never may have re-chromed used parts - their upgrades all have the appearance of part swaps. And if even they did, they would not have screwed up that much. But grey Leicas were disregarded and sold for army surplus prices for something like three decades - enough time that someone will have picked up some and put them into whatever galvanics he had at hand (or rather, at work) to re-sell them as a (then) higher priced chrome one...

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I wasn't saying it would've been a factory-upgrade 😉

But yeah, the finish does look particularly home-brew crude so it makes your suggestion a very plausible explanation.

 

[RF_newbie]

Here is what i got from Lager..

Greetings John, This would have been a grey IIIcK . Delivered to Berlin on 3.5.44 on shipment 9931.
There is also a notation written February 46 to what appears to be an Allied officer ( Cpt.).
The camera has been stripped of paint and then poorly chromed. Note the pitting. An internal inspection would hopefully reveal the number 390250.

Jim