Kiev 4a (unmarked)
factory: Arsenal - V.I. Lenin/ Kiev, Ukraine, USSR
Pictured camera:
body serial: #6401377
lens: Jupiter-8, 50mm f2
lens serial: #6439544
notes : Original unmarked leather & chrome case ... The Kiev "No-Name" were made for sale in the United States and other countries (Canadian distributors) at a time when political "Cold War" tension was quite high between the Soviet Union and the West, due to the 1962 Cuban Missle Crisis among other things. They were made in 1963 and 1964. The 1963 units usually were fitted with a genuine Carl Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f. 1.5 lens, and so without the Kiev name, they looked quite German rather than Soviet. These cameras are also usually engraved on the back, "USSR OCCUPIED GERMANY". The 1964 units often came with the Jupiter-8 lens, and don't have that engraving on the back.
The Kiev "No Name" cameras also have a finer quality chrome finish than the typical Kiev from that era.
Known serial numbers:
#body ____ #lens/type __________________ owner/source ________ remarks
6401316 __ 6339254 Jup-8 _______________ ebay
6401377 __ 6439544 Jup-8 _______________ private _____________ see photos
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