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Asterisk * after serial number - explanation
Got an M body with a serial number which includes an asterisk *? Wondering if this means something special or makes your camera a collectors item? …
Well, no. According to Rapidwinder guru Tom Abrahamsson, all the asterisk means is that the serial number is being re-used from a trashed camera body no longer in circulation. In detail:
[…] the * after the serial number denotes a "duplicate" number. At some time a camera was returned and it was either in such bad shape that it was made in to a parts camera, or in some cases it was an engraving mistake. I have seen serial numbers with a D engraved ( as in "duplicate") or the * after the number. I have even seen a M4-P ( same range as your friends 1550 xxx) with both a D and an asterisk after the number! Wonder whatever happened to the 2 preceding bodies? It is not a high value item, more of an oddity. Strangely enough, most Focotar-2 50/4,5 enlarging lenses that I have seen have the asterisk after the serial number. I never bothered to find out why, but there is probably a very Germanic explanation to this.
A note about possible broken links
This FAQ has over 900 external links. Over time it is inevitable some of them will break. If you are bothered by this, see this detailed topic elsewhere in the FAQ.