Monopoly is one of the most played board games around the world. Over the years, hundreds of different editions have been released. Sometimes these editions are very limited with low production numbers, making them rare and valuable. Typically, the rarest versions of Monopoly are early editions from Charles Darrow or Parker Brothers.
Honorable Mention: The Landlord’s Game
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: Unknown – very few exist today
Year Released: 1906
Estimated Value: $50,000 (typical price at auction)
Monopoly wouldn’t exist without Elizabeth Magie’s The Landlord’s Game. Magie’s game, which was based on the economic principles of Georgism, directly inspired Charles Darrow’s version of Monopoly. Between 1902 to 1903, Magie designed The Landlord’s Game and filed a patent in 1904. Around 1906, Magie and fellow Georgists formed Economic Game Company to produce and sell The Landlord’s Game. Magie tried to sell the game to Parker Brothers, but it was rejected for being too complicated. Despite this, The Landlord’s Game grew in popularity through word of mouth. Eventually, Parker Brothers did buy The Landlord’s Game in 1939, but it was quickly discontinued due to poor sales since Monopoly had exploded in popularity a few years earlier. Due to its limited production, first editions of The Landlord’s Game are incredibly rare.
1973 Braille Edition
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: Unknown – limited run
Year Released: 1973
Estimated Value: Unknown
In 1973, Parker Brothers released a Braille Edition of Monopoly for the very first time. To accommodate the visually impaired, this Braille Edition of the game features a hard plastic Braille cover that rests on top of the game board. Additionally, the property deed cards are larger than normal because they feature enlarged text as well as Braille. The money is printed on thicker paper with the denomination embossed in the upper left corner and the lower right corner. Not very many of the 1973 Braille Editions are around still, but a few have been auctioned.
Trade Mark Edition
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: 25,000 produced
Year Released: 1935
Estimated Value: $350 – $1,000 (typical price at auction)
Like Charles Darrow, Parker Brothers made several editions of Monopoly in the early days. One of the rarest of these early Monopoly games is the 1935 Trade Mark Edition. This version, called #9, of the game was modeled after Darrow’s White Box. However, the Parker Brothers version included 10 metal tokens as well as double the money supply that Darrow had provided. Parker Brothers also produced a Trade Mark Edition of the game based on Darrow’s smaller Black Box.
Patent Pending Edition
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: c.10,000+ produced
Year Released: 1935
Estimated Value: $300 – $900 (typical price at auction)
Immediately after Parker Brothers bought Monopoly from Charles Darrow, the company helped him file a U.S. Patent for the game. However, Parker Brothers wasted no time manufacturing and producing Monopoly games and slapped a Patent Pending label on the boxes. About 10,000 or so of the Patent Pending Edition of Monopoly were produced. Although there were many copies of this version of Monopoly in circulation, it is quite rare to find a complete set today.
Darrow Black Box
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: 7,500 produced
Year Released: 1935
Estimated Value: $2,000 (typical price at auction)
Charles Darrow made several versions of Monopoly before it was officially picked up by Parker Brothers. The last version of the game he made, which is known as the Darrow Black Box, came out in 1935, right before Parker Brothers acquired the game. Darrow produced about 7,500 of the Black Box Monopoly games. After Parker Brothers bought the rights to Monopoly, they received the remaining stock of 5,900 Black Box sets.
3D Monopoly New York Edition
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: 2,000 produced
Year Released: 2013
Estimated Value: $500 (original price)
In 2013, pop artist Charles Fazzino released a 3D version of the game themed around New York City. Fazzino only produced 2,000 3D MONOPOLY®: The Fazzino New York Edition as they were intended to be a special collector’s edition of the beloved game. Each of the 2,000 games were hand-signed and numbered by Fazzino. Some of the special features of this edition of Monopoly include: six custom Fazzino-designed New York City-themed pewter Monopoly tokens; custom Fazzino-designed Money and Title Deed, Chance, and Community Chest Cards; custom Fazzino-designed Wood houses and Hotels; and a wooden Banker’s Tray.
Darrow White Box
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: 1,000 produced
Year Released: 1933 – 1934
Estimated Value: $6,256 (eBay sale)
Before Parker Brothers decided to buy Charles Darrow’s version of Monopoly, Darrow decided to produce the game himself. Initially, Darrow and his family were hand making games, but Darrow eventually found a small manufacturer. These early Monopoly games were packaged in a white box and came with the game board, a set of Darrow’s rules, money, and all the other pieces needed to play the game. According to several sources, only about 1,000 of the Darrow White Box sets were produced. Due to the age of Darrow White Box Monopoly sets and its fairly low production number, a complete set in any condition is hard to come by and typically sells for a few thousand dollars.
1991 Last Edition
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: 650 produced
Year Released: 1991
Estimated Value: $267 (eBay sale from 2012)
In 1991, the original Parker Brothers manufacturing plant in Salem, Massachusetts was shut down after more than 100 years in operation. Parker Brothers had been making and selling Monopoly since 1935, but Hasbro took over the company in 1991. To commemorate Parker Brothers shutting down, the company’s management produced 650 limited edition Monopoly games for each of its employees. Each one of the boxes has “Last edition Published in Salem, Massachusetts” printed on it. The Last Edition Monopoly game was never released to the public, making it incredibly rare.
1,000,000 Edition
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: 100 produced
Year Released: 2007
Estimated Value: Unknown – none have come up for sale
In 2007, Winning Moves Games, produced a limited 1,000,000 Edition of Monopoly to celebrate the company’s millionth copy of Monopoly. Not much is known about this edition of Monopoly other than the fact that only 100 copies were produced. The 1,000,000 Edition was released in the UK and features UK landmarks instead of the traditional Monopoly landmarks.
Original Hand-Made Game
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: Unknown for sure, but very few in existence
Year Released: 1933
Estimated Value: $120,000 (price paid at auction in 2011)
Although he wasn’t actually the games inventor (even though he claimed he was and even convinced Parker Brothers), Charles Darrow is credited with popularizing Monopoly and being the designer of the game as we know it today. Around 1933, Darrow began making hand-drawn Monopoly sets to give to friends and family. These early sets were made on round pieces of oil-cloth and Darrow drew the designs for the properties himself. His wife and son colored in the property spaces and made the title deed cards and Chance and Community Chest cards. To help his family survive the Great Depression, Darrow began selling these sets and is said to have produced about one or two a day. While these early hand-made Darrow Monopoly boards rarely turn up, one set was sold in 2011 for about $120,000. It is believed to be the oldest-known Monopoly set.
Sidney Mobell Monopoly
Estimated Number in Existence or Produced: 1 produced
Year Released: 1988
Estimated Value: $2 Million
In 1988, jeweler Sidney Mobell crafted a one-of-a-kind 23-karat gold Monopoly set, making it the rarest Monopoly board game ever in the world. Each of the iconic Monoply game pieces were made out of 18-karat solid gold. The little number dots on the dice are diamond studs, and all of the Monopoly money was printed on gold paper. The hotels and houses were also decked out with rubies and sapphires. In total, the unique Monopoly set was worth $2 million. Mobell created the golden Monopoly game to be the featured showpiece at the 1988 World Monopoly Tournament in London.
This article originally appeared on Rarest.org.
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