Royal 215 info wanted

[mr-nostalgia]

I just picked up my first old vac. It's a Royal model 215 and is complete and works great. I cleaned it up and it looks awesome. Could someone please tell me when it was made and how much they sold for new. It looks neat displayed in my nostalgia museum detached garage. Don't have any pictures yet. Mr-nostalgia

 

[hygiene903]

215

Glad you're enjoying your 215! They were made from 1945 to 1952. Think they may have sold for around $89.95 at the time, but I could be wrong. Here's a pic of mine.
Jeff

 

[toastermike]

Can the date of manufacture be identified by the serial number of a 215?

 

[mr-nostalgia]

Royal 215

Thanks Jeff for the date and price info. I saw an ad on ebay for a royal vac. that looks like the 215 and the add was dated from 1937. Maybe they had some small changes and the one I was looking at was another model. Anyway, your Royal 215 looks incredible,like it is new. MIne is missing most of that bottom black rubber bumper which i guess protects furniture. Does anyone have one for sale or do they reproduce any of this stuff?

 

[hygiene903]

To Mr. Nostalgia, thank you for the complement! My 215 came to me in that condition, having been well cared for by the previous owner and is all original except for the cord.
To Toastermike, only on Royal products built after 1970 can the manufacturing date be determined from the serial number. On earlier models, the serial number consists of the model number, hyphen, and sequence number. For example, the serial number of my 215 pictured above is 215-106954.
Jeff

 

[toastermike]

Thanks Jeff for the answer to my manufacturing date question. Your 215 does look incredible! My newly acquired 215 looks much like yours but is still missing the belt cover. I hope to find one some day.

Mike

 

[hygiene903]

Mike,

Thank you for the compliment, and wish you the best of luck finding a belt cover. The good news is, belt covers for Royals in general are not too hard to find, the bad news is finding the EXACT one for a 215 may be difficult.
Jeff