There were different versions of the story concerning the transition from Nikon M to Nikon S:
1. As long as the Serial No was started as M, it was considered as Nikon M, thus the Serial No ended on the last unit of M (at around M6094000), or
2. Production of Nikon M stopped on Dec 1951 and production of Nikon S began on Jan 1952, as soon as the flash sync were added on the camera, starting from (around) M6092400.
Nonetheless, the Nikon S was the first Nikon to be "actively" selling to the US market, with these characteristics:
- Carried all the features of Nikon M, including the 24 x 34mm format.
- Flash sync connections was added to the right side of the camera body, F being Fast and S being Slow.
- Except the first few batches, MIOJ (Made In Occupied Japan) imprint was dropped at around 1952.
While there were improvements and changes here and there from Nikon I to Nikon M then Nikon S, the basic 6FB design remained the same. The total production of this 6FB (I, M and S) were believed to be around 39,000 units.
It was also proved by the same prefix of "609" (since production started on Sept 1946) on the Serial No:
- After reaching 6099999, it was continued on to 60910000.
- At about 60911215, the factory realized that the number of digits might keep on adding until it would not fit on the top-plate, so it was converted to begin with 610xxxx. We have here the (rarer) version 60911070 in our collection
with the 3.5CM f/3.5 lens (now marked as Nippon Kogaku Japan) and a shoe-mounted viewfinder with the matching 3.5cm setting.
Reference
Nikon Rangefinder Camera - An Illustrated History of the Nikon Rangefinder Cameras, Lenses and Accessories by Robert Rotoloni
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