1972 Royal (Silver-Seiko) Medallion II #CWL 2793905
Status: My Collection
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
Created: 09-08-2025 at 07:06AM
Last Edit: 09-09-2025 at 05:54AM
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Description:
Litton inked the deal with Silver Seiko in Mar 1970. Beeching calls these the Model 1300 Award Series for 1972. However, his picture for this model is not correct. It is a Jetstar. There are just a couple of newspaper references to a 1300 electric. The first US ads for the Medallion without a number are in early 1973. By late 1973 they were selling I and II Medallions at a different price point. The I is a 10 in carriage, and the II is a 12 in carriage. In 1974 the Medallion became the Centurion.
If you have to glue a post-production label onto the machine for start-up, you might have a problem. What is most interesting is that Royal needed to make sure they added the Magic Margin system. I don't know what's under the covers, but it weighs 27.5 lbs. A SC 250 comes in at 20 lbs. A 2nd gen 7000 , which is a big machine, comes in at 27 lbs.
These are compact electric 'portables' aimed squarely at Smith Corona 250s and Electra 210/220s. The Brother 710/711/713, far superior to both, is in this category as well. This is right about the time SC goes to the cartridge system. Litton is hemorrhaging sales on all fronts.
An attempt to revive this one was unsuccessful. The shift pivot was frozen, as in seriously stuck. It took PPB and a big screwdriver wedged in to free it up. While stuck, the pivot lever would lock the power roller.
Now that everything is spinning, it is clear the motor sustained some damage, because it won’t turn the roller fast enough to trip things properly.
These are interesting machines. They are a pretty solid build, but wrapped in some ugly bodywork. I’d say made to Litton’s specs, whereas Remington just slapped their name on tried and true Brother machines.
The constant name change is a pretty good indicator that there is a reliability issue. However, anecdotally, it appears Litton milked the Royal name for all it was worth.
Typeface Specimen:
Links:
Photos:
Hunter: James Grooms (jgrooms)
James Grooms's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 15711
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 Royal (Silver-Seiko) Medallion II on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Royal (Silver-Seiko) Serial Number page and the Royal (Silver-Seiko) Medallion II By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
