Vienna, Nov 23, (dpa/GNA) – A camera owned by the late pope Francis was sold at auction in Vienna on Saturday for €6.5 million ($7.5 million), after an unexpected bidding war.
The Leica M-A exceeded its estimated value a hundredfold, according to a spokesman for the 47th Leitz Photographica Auction.
In accordance with the wishes of the former head of the Catholic Church, who passed away in April, the money will go to charity. The auction house also waived its commission fee.
Leica Camera AG gifted the camera to Francis in 2024, labelling it and its lens with the serial number 5000000.
“It has always been a tradition at Leica to reserve such distinctive, round serial numbers for special cameras, which are often given to prominent public figures,” said Alexander Sedlak, managing director of Leica Camera Classics and Leitz Photographica Auction.
The name of the buyer was not disclosed. According to reports, two bidders competed for the camera on the phone.
The approximately 10-minute auction was “certainly one of the most exciting bidding battles in the history of our auction house, and absolutely worthy of this extraordinary lot,” Sedlak said.
A lot is an item for sale at an auction, while the lot number uniquely identifies the respective item.
GNA