I always check out the vintage games, just like everything else, there doesn't seem to be as many around as when we first starting buying games. But, the other day I scored this old Monopoly at the Salvation Army for $2.50 - I really only wanted it for the pieces as we had no wooden ones. It made me want to learn more..
I don't know much about identifying games but I have learned that the method used for Monopoly is the patent year and number - the patent on this game was Canada 1936.
The board isn't in the best of shape and it's standard, it looks like any other Monopoly game.
The Chance and Community Chest cards are quite plain. The mustached tycoon we see on the cards now was introduced in 1936, he used to be called Uncle Pennybags - in 1999, Parker Brothers changed his name to Mr. Monopoly.
I noticed that the property cards for the two blue groups are different shades of blue than they are now, the rest are all the same though.
The money hasn't changed much either..
All of the pieces are wooden, that's why I wanted the game to begin with - I think the white milk bottle doesn't belong with this set and there is extra dice, the wooden dice belonged with this game but apparently, one is missing.
Monopoly was such a great game - have you played lately?
Just a few Monopoly facts to finish off this post...
Monopoly debuted in 1933.
Wooden tokens first showed up in 1936 when demand for Monopoly grew so fast that Parker Brothers couldn't keep up with the production of the metal tokens, and again during WWII, after a ban on the use of non essential metals was imposed.
The six original metal tokens were iron, cannon, thimble, ship, shoe and top hat. At one time the tokens had holes in them, you could buy a bracelet at Woolworth's and wear your tokens!
$15,140 - total amount of money in a standard Monopoly game
The length of the longest Monopoly game was 1, 680 hours (lasting over 70 day) Oh, my!!!
I did some reading on Monopoly in my book "Timeless Toys" - I haven't had it out for a while, I need to go through it again...
