A century ago in 1923, Leica produced approximately 23 35mm camera prototypes to test and evaluate the new format and the revolutionary design of the first 35mm camera, culminating in the landmark Leica A camera in 1925. Today, there are only 12 of these Leica 0 Series prototypes left, one of which will be auctioned on October 7, 2023.
The Leica 0 series represents the beginning of the popularization of photographic equipment and is the pinnacle of photographic collections. As the saying goes, "There is only one camera more expensive than a new Leica," and "that's an old Leica."
Only 13 cameras have sold for more than $1 million, and a 14th will almost certainly appear on October 7, 2023. Given that these cameras rarely come to auction, and only 12 are known to exist, we expect this camera to fetch over $3 million.
The last camera sold at auction last year sold for a staggering €14,400,000 ($15,147,360), although to be fair, the camera was the personal camera of inventor Oskar Barnack.
Of the five most valuable cameras ever sold, four are Leica Series 0s, all of which were auctioned by Leitz Photographica, the Vienna auction house owned by Leica.
It can be seen that the camera is estimated to be worth between 1.5 million and 2 million euros ($1.6 million to $2.1 million), and it was last sold at auction five years ago for 2.4 million euros ($2,953,920).
The October 7, 2023 auction will break tradition in many ways, as German auction house Wetzlar Camera Auctions will be handling the sale, so it will almost certainly be the only camera to sell for more than $1 million that has not been sold through Leitz Photographica.