I've been on the prowl for a late production F2A in black, and thus I've been scrolling through hundreds of eBay listings. I ran across this listing and this listing, which have asking prices of $1750 and $1780. These are "25th Anniversary" edition F2A cameras. Per the internet, sales prices for these cameras have been anywhere from $699 to $2499 with varying degrees of swag included (original boxes, packaging, warranty cards etc)
After doing some research I learned that the "25th Anniversary" models were not actually Nikon's doing, but rather a gimmick of Ehrenreich Photo-Optical, the US importer of these cameras at the time. To celebrate 25 years in business (1954-1979) EPOI would import the cameras, engrave a number on the bottom plate, and stick a cheap plastic "25th Anniversary" badge on the front. Apparently the whole thing was a marketing stunt done without Nikon's authorization. It is said that you could send off a card and receive a wooden plaque with your name and cameras serial number on it.
And that's when I remembered this listing which has an asking price of $250, with offers accepted. It stuck out because I remembered the engraving and shrugged it off as a school marking or something else like that. I figured it was probably part of a fleet of cameras that saw heavy use and it was the identifying mark. Turns out, I think this is #1901 of the 2500 "special edition" bodies, since they were numbered 25-0001 to 25-2500. (Some places say it was a run of 4000).
I think that all the collectors value in this $250 one is gone because it's not "mint", it doesn't have it's original box, and there's no plaque or paperwork certifying it as one of the 25th anniversary edition... but I did stop for a minute and wonder if the seller knew what it was, and if there may be a few more dollars to squeeze out of it if it could be bought at a deal. I also thought about submitting an offer for it, but decided to hold out for a mint black F2A that I truly want.
The 25th anniversary edition, and the "deal", respectively.
After doing some research I learned that the "25th Anniversary" models were not actually Nikon's doing, but rather a gimmick of Ehrenreich Photo-Optical, the US importer of these cameras at the time. To celebrate 25 years in business (1954-1979) EPOI would import the cameras, engrave a number on the bottom plate, and stick a cheap plastic "25th Anniversary" badge on the front. Apparently the whole thing was a marketing stunt done without Nikon's authorization. It is said that you could send off a card and receive a wooden plaque with your name and cameras serial number on it.
And that's when I remembered this listing which has an asking price of $250, with offers accepted. It stuck out because I remembered the engraving and shrugged it off as a school marking or something else like that. I figured it was probably part of a fleet of cameras that saw heavy use and it was the identifying mark. Turns out, I think this is #1901 of the 2500 "special edition" bodies, since they were numbered 25-0001 to 25-2500. (Some places say it was a run of 4000).
I think that all the collectors value in this $250 one is gone because it's not "mint", it doesn't have it's original box, and there's no plaque or paperwork certifying it as one of the 25th anniversary edition... but I did stop for a minute and wonder if the seller knew what it was, and if there may be a few more dollars to squeeze out of it if it could be bought at a deal. I also thought about submitting an offer for it, but decided to hold out for a mint black F2A that I truly want.
The 25th anniversary edition, and the "deal", respectively.