Introduced in 1984, the M6 was witness to the seemingly sad transition of this fine classic camera company into a veritable high end Franklin Mint of the industry. It seems that the marketeers at Leica had suddenly realized the many of its early limited edition camera bodies, lenses and assorted accessories that had been produced in very small numbers take on a very high value as they are sought after by this interesting group of humans known as "COLLECTORS". At the bottom I have listed a partial list of what the people at Wikipedia are able to find. I know there are more because we have at least two (most desirable not for manufactured collectibility but for inherent qualities of their own) that are not on the list.

The M6, aside from all of this is actually a very fine camera in its own right. It does not enjoy the extremely fine industrial craftsmanship qualities of the M2, M3 and M4(1st version). It is actually more of an M5 executed compactly and correctly.

The M6 was first introduced in Black Chrome only , sometimes criticized for not being very durable in normal use and suffering appearance wise as a result, and followed eventually by a myriad of almost every possible finish, some of which (like Titanium Plate [shown above] and the new brushed Chrome) are both extremely attractive and durable as well.

The tan Titanium Plate version was produced in relatively scarce numbers for a premium price and is regarded as particularly collectible. For this era of FAUX collectibles, it stands out as a true collectible.

Some of the "Limited Edition" M6 Classic Leicas are:

* Leica M6 150 Jahre Photographie - 1989 - 75 Jahre Leica Photographie: 1250 cameras
* Leica M6 Colombo '92 (1492 - 1992: 500 Scoperta dell'America - Italia): 200 cameras
* Leica M6 Royal-Foto Austria (1968 - 1993): 101 cameras
* Leica M6J 40 Jahre Leica M (1954 - 1994): 1640 cameras
* Leica M6 Dragon (gold plated): 300 cameras
* Leica M6 Historica (1975 - 1995): 150 cameras
* Leica M6 Royal Wedding: 200 cameras
* Leica M6 Thai Jubilee (50th year of the reign of His Majesty King Bhumiphol Adulyadej): 700 cameras
* Leica M6 Anton Bruckner (1824 - 1896): 200 cameras
* Leica M6 Brunei: 200 platinum plated cameras (125 platinum plated with diamonds) and 350 gold plated cameras
* Leica M6 Partners: 500 cameras
* Leica M6 Leica Demo Ausrustung Benelux '96: 70 cameras
* Leica M6 Ein Stuck: 996 cameras
* Leica M6 Jaguar XK (1948 - 1998): 50 cameras
* Leica M6 Millennium: only 2000 cameras (300 with 0.85 viewfinder and green leatherette)
* Leica M6 Cutaway
* Leica M6 Dragon (viewfinder 0.85x, black painted): 500 cameras
* Leica M6 ICS: 200 cameras
* Leica M6 LHSA (Leica Historical Society of America)
* Leica M6 resundsbron: 150 cameras
* Leica M6 Henri Cartier-Bresson (with Vuitton case): only 1 camera
* Leica M6 William Klein: only 1 camera
* Leica M6 Swiss Demo (Test the best): 40 cameras
* Leica M6 Zurich Photographic Center: 100 cameras
* Leica M6 Royal Photographic Society: 100 cameras
* Leica M6 Platinum Optics: 150 cameras
* Leica M6 Schmidt Centenary: 151 cameras
* Leica M6 Canada: 270 cameras
* Leica M6 Year of Rooster: 300 cameras
* Leica M6 999: 999 cameras
* Leica M6 Titanium: circa 6000 and 1000 in TTL-version