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Leica M2 and M3 bodies load from the bottom, so the removable base plate is a working part of the camera rather than trim. Black paint plates were made to match the small number of black finished bodies of the period: Leitz painted only about 1,851 M2s black against total production above 85,000, and black M3s were rarer still. The paint is laid over brass rather than plated alloy, so it marks and wears to yellow metal rather than bright chrome.