Made by Nippon Kogaku, this is a standard lens with rangefinder coupling for the Leica L mount. It was introduced in October 1950, following the previous year's debut of the Nikkor-S.C 50mm f1.5. While it retains the 3-group, 7-element Sonnar design, unlike the f1.5, which was a direct copy of the Zeiss Sonnar, this f1.4 lens features unique improvements and advancements. The distance markings are in feet, with rangefinder coupling effective up to 1m, and beyond that, it is non-coupled, though it can focus down to 50cm—a welcome feature in today's era of mirrorless dominance. This particular lens, with the prefix serial number 5005, is one of the early units. The following number sequence ends in the distinctive three digits, 888. It was designed and drafted in May 1950, hence the number 50 (year) 05 (month). Approximately 2,000 units of this prefix serial number 5005 were manufactured, available in both Nikon S mount and Leica screw mount. Included are the original screw-in hood (with leather case), a Walz filter, and a black-painted original front cap. There is a minor dent near the S.C marking on the filter ring, but filters can be attached without any issues. Other signs of light use are visible, but the plating is in good condition, and the overall appearance of the lens is quite clean. A full service was completed in August 2023. Thanks to careful maintenance, the aperture and helicoid operate very smoothly. The rangefinder coupling is also precise. The front element of the lens shows slight yellowing and minor coating wear due to age, but there is no haze or significant scratches, resulting in clear glass. The results from actual shooting tests were also very good. Photos from the last sale have been posted in the test shooting gallery. The images are soft and gentle, which is quite striking. For distances under 1 meter, shooting was done using live view, but within the range of the rangefinder coupling, all shots were taken at full aperture with focus set via the rangefinder. The precise rangefinder coupling makes shooting a pleasure.