1967 Olympia SM9 #3499318
Status: My Collection
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
Created: 11-29-2023 at 05:44AM
Last Edit: 11-29-2024 at 11:07AM
Find on Ebay #AD
Find on Etsy #AD
Description:
An estate sale find before the dreaded pickers arrived like locusts. Someone's high school machine. A basic cleaning and typing like new. German engineering and yes these SMs are fantastic typers. $130 in 1967 is roughly $1200 today. $80-90 typer at that time for comparison is $700-800 today. So some historical context for when some typewriter 'review' talks about an Olympia killer, there's nothing new under the sun. Money talks and bs walks. If your 'killer' whatever was in the same league, it would've been priced in the same ballpark back in the day, A good example of what the dollar value was, is the ad that shows an $11 down payment could get you out the door with one, making a $40 msrp gap simply huge.
10 of 10 on typing.
5 of 5 on controls.
3 of 3 on serviceability.
3 of 3 on fit and finish.
1 of 3 on soft case (hard available).
2 of 3 on style.
24/27
Senatorial #71 Elite.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
James Grooms's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 10263
As with many, the bug is back there somewhere due to an Underwood No. 5. My grandparents had a No 5. My parents had a yellow Royal Safari that I used to index card everything, including a beer can collection. Collection syndrome clue! A casual interest in typewriters started with a garage sale 3 bank simply because it said Underwood on it. Typewriters were found here and there , but I wasn't actively looking for them. The long dormant collecting tic was activated when my neighbors left a Remington Quiet Riter on the curb when they moved.
Typewriters are the perfect blend of using one's technical skills, history and functional purpose. My goal is type tested machines. My interests are not isolated to anyone area. For example, I am a big fan of Smith Corona electrics, mid century electrics and all things Royal.
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Olympia SM9 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Olympia Serial Number page and the Olympia SM9 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
