Leica I: Camera prototype auctioned for 7.2 million euros

After production, the piece was delivered to the inventor of the 35mm camera, Oskar Barnack . Its ultimate owner and who purchased it at auction have not yet been revealed.

Before the auction, the camera's value was estimated at 1.5 to 2 million euros, with a starting price of 800,000 euros. The most expensive piece to date, a model of the 0 series with the number 105, changed hands for 14.4 million euros in 2022. In 1923, a total of 22 0-series cameras were produced, but the whereabouts of only about half of them are known today.