Mamiya 7 missing S/N

[fade2black]

So I got a Mamiya 7 from my Dad and recently noticed that the serial number on the bottom is missing. Looks like it was scratched off. I cannot find anything online about this. Now I don't think my Dad is an international camera thief, so is there anything I should know about why it is like this or what could have happened to cause this? I'm sure this adversely impacts the value of the camera. Any help is appreciated.

 

[fiddle]

Interesting. I had a sorta similar situation. I had a Mamiya 7 lens that was stamped twice on the last 2 numbers of the serial. Could not confirm what the serial actually was. I tried finding info as well, got nowhere. My theory is that these are some kind of black market, only for sale in Japan sold elsewhere etc. Only thing I can come up with.

 

[fade2black]

Hmm, my dad did travel to Japan a lot for business. Maybe he bought it over there and brought it back.

 

[warden]

Probably a grey market situation, and since the camera came from your trusted father I wouldn’t worry about it. Congratulations on a fantastic camera!

 

[mshchem]

Could have been a "not first class" unit. Some minor cosmetic flaw, or a field return, sold as is no warranty etc. Nice camera.
My Dad gave me a beat up Nikkormat, he did build me a darkroom and show me how to use it.

 

[fade2black]

Could have been a "not first class" unit. Some minor cosmetic flaw, or a field return, sold as is no warranty etc. Nice camera.
My Dad gave me a beat up Nikkormat, he did build me a darkroom and show me how to use it.

haha, we did the same thing! Built a darkroom and learned how to process B&W and color film/prints. Was awesome and something we loved doing.