The sun finally came out so I tested a couple mystery lens out today. One has absolutely no markings or branding of any kind. It was re-mounted in a modern-ish Aluminum barrel that I recognized that some lower cost Hugo Meyer lenses came in. I bought it from a gentleman at a camera show who custom mounted it himself. He didn't really remember what make and model it even was, but for some reason I bought it anyways. Turns out it's about a 340mm f/13 and it seems to cover 8x20 (though corners might be suspect unless stopped down). I've tried to divine what the lens design is and it seems closest to a Plasmat except the single lens element on the inside is WAY farther away from the cemented pair on the outside than in any other Plasmat. Very odd but I'm excited it kind of covers 8x20 as it's very light-weight.

The next is a Goerz Geodar 30mm f/7.7 that came in a very strange and heavy version of a Compound shutter I have not ever seen before. Shutter does not work, pieces seem to be missing. When I bought it, it had a brass flange that was made of 1/4" thick brass and very deep threads-- that was hell to get off the rest of the assembly! Well it seemed to cover 8x20 as well, without any real hesitation. Some references I've seen say it may be a Double Gauss type or maybe a Dagor type? Heck if I know, but it's a nice lens if it wasn't for the heavy mount.

Any interesting mystery lenses stories you'd like to share?