1960s monopoly pieces

Tokens are the playing pieces used in the Monopoly board game. They differ depending on the edition and the year of release of an edition. Standard editions, however different they are, usually use pewter tokens. In 1998, a new piece was voted on to be added to the existing 10 ( 11 in gold sets) The winner was a sack of money, which appeared in most standard editions until its retirement in 2007.

Materials & History

^[1][2]"Monopoly" playing pieces, often referred to as tokens, date from 1935 when Parker Brothers bought the game rights. Prior to this, no playing pieces were supplied with the game. Players used familiar objects such as buttons and charms for tokens. Shortages of raw materials during the war years failed to disrupt "Monopoly" production, but components, including playing pieces, were replaced with lower quality alternatives. The originals being a cannon, thimble, top hat, iron, battleship, and boot. Later in 1935, the race car purse was added to the 7 token sets and then in about the middle of 1935, the purse was added to 8 token sets. In late 1935 and early 1936, the lantern and rocking horse were added to 10 token sets, these pieces are especially hard to find nowadays.

Early Pieces

The first pieces, from 1935 to about 1938, were made by the Dowst Manufacturing Company, makers of "Tootsietoys." These were die-casts from Zamak, a zinc alloy also known as white metal, monkey metal, pot metal, or die-cast zinc. Impurities in the manufacturing process caused some of them to oxidize and turn black. Later non-tarnishing tokens were made of lead and tin. These non-tarnishing playing pieces appeared in sets licensed by Parker Brothers throughout the world, although some prewar Canadian sets included generic turned wood pawns of various shapes.

War-time Playing Pieces

The metal was needed for the war effort, so wood pawns were used for most "Monopoly" pieces during that time. A few games had composite playing pieces made of compressed paper and sawdust. These playing pieces were fragile, and since not many were produced they became collector's items. In the United Kingdom, some sets used wood pawns from the game "64 Milestones" as tokens, but the majority were cardboard cut-outs slotted into black wooden bases.

Immediate Post-war Pieces

Dowst focused on die-cast toys after the war, so Parker Brothers produced its own pewter playing pieces based on the Dowst originals. In 1948, the United Kingdom sets used cardboard cut-outs in colored bases. In 1953, these were replaced by tokens cut from sheet metal, which were fitted with metal stands. These were the standard pieces until the 1960s when the pewter tokens replaced them. Some of these tokens from the 1940s being a car with driver ( counterpart to the race car ) howitzer ( counterpart to the cannon ), airplane, as well as the dog, horse, and rider, and wheelbarrow, but these tokens were officially added in the 1950s. Some of these can be seen in the photo above. A picture of the cannon can be seen at the top of the page.

Special Playing Pieces

While standard Hasbro Monopoly sets throughout the world contain the traditional pewter tokens, specially commissioned and commemorative sets have used a variety of materials for playing pieces. "Franklin Mint" sets have 22-karat gold plated playing pieces while the 75th Anniversary "Revolution" edition has plastic tokens depicting outlines of the original Dowst pieces. Sidney Mobell's £1.3 million "Monopoly" set has 18-karat solid yellow gold

In the 1940s the counterpart tokens ( the car with driver and howitzer) were made These pieces were similar to the race car and the cannon. The car with driver appeared in all sets in the 1940s but was removed in 1950 when the race car was added back. However, the token has a very interesting story, in 1935, 1937, and 1938 a few special sets were made with special tokens pictured further up. However, you may have noticed one was a car with a driver after 1938 these tokens were never seen again except for the car with a driver that survived and became a member of the monopoly family. Recently the piece along with the airplane has been getting more recognition as tokens. That being said, many still consider the howitzer and cannon the same though the cannon looks like it was from the civil war and the howitzer looks modern. Like it or not, however, the car with driver lost its counterpart battle, but the howitzer won its. Sets with the car with drivers are very easy to find if you are looking to acquire this shorter-lived piece.

Standard Edition

Current tokens: 8

• The tokens are:
  • Scottish Terrier
  • Battleship 1935
  • race car mid-1935
  • Top Hat 1935
  • Penguin 2017
  • T-Rex 2017
  • Cat - (August 2013, the cat playing piece replaced the iron)
  • Rubber Ducky 2017
• Recently Retired Pieces (May still be on store shelves)
  • Thimble (Retired March 2017)
  • Wheelbarrow 1940s 1950s-2017
  • Shoe (or Boot) 1935-2017

The great scale back (2007 retired pieces)

• • Horse & Rider 1940s 1950s-2007
  • Howitzer 1946-2007
  • sack of Money (1998-2007)
  • Iron (1935-2013)
  • Train (Only in Deluxe Editions) from the 1980s- 2007
• other long ago retired tokens
  • cannon 1935-1946
  • car with driver 1940-1950
  • airplane 1946-1950
  • lantern late 1935-1950
  • Rocking Horse late 1935-1950
  • purse mid-1935-1950

80th Anniversary Edition

The tokens in this anniversary edition are made of brass.

Here are the tokens with their first appearance for each decade:

• 1930s: Lantern
• 1940s: Bathtub
• 1950s: Cannon with wheels
• 1960s: Horse & Rider
• 1970s: Pillar with a Racecar on top
• 1980s: Train
• 1990s: Sack of Money
• 2000s: Hazel the Cat
  

85th Anniversary Edition

The tokens in this anniversary edition are gold-colored.

• Racecar (like in NASCAR)
• Sunglasses
• Yacht (Big Boat)
• Bowtie
• Jet (Passenger)
• Helicopter
• Wristwatch (Jewelry)
• Top Hat
  

Monopoly: Electronic Banking Edition

• Current Tokens: 6
• They are:
  • A Space Shuttle
  • A Flat Screen TV
  • A Segway
  • A Baseball Cap
  • An Altoids Case
  • A Dog in a Handbag

Monopoly: Ultimate Banking Edition

There are 4 plastic tokens with their corresponding bank cards.

• Red Car
• Green Helicopter
• Blue Boat
• White Jet
  

Monopoly: Super Electronic Banking Edition

There are 4 plastic tokens with their corresponding bank cards (and reference cards).

• Yellow Car - World Traveler
• Blue Plane - Frequent Flyer
• Gray/White Safe - Super Saver
• Red Shopping Bag - Big Spender
  

.com Edition

• A computer (Monitor and Tower)
• A computer with the Internet
• A computer monitor (Alone)
• An e-mail (Hand holding envelope)
• A mouse (The animal)
• A 3D, pixelated 3D hand (Computer selector)
• Monopoly Man on the computer
• A bug (A virus)
• And a surfboard (symbolizing surfing the net)

America's National Parks Edition

• A camera, representing tourism
• A hiking shoe, representing day walks and night walks
• A mountain bicycle, representing cycling
• A tent, representing camping
• A canoe, representing canoe-paddling
• A fishing reel, representing fishing

Monopoly: Cheaters Edition

• A cat burglar
• A getaway car
• A business penguin
• A dog burying his taxes
• A top hat with money
• A t-rex with a robot arm

Monopoly Builder

The 4 tokens in this edition has the affiliated colors and resources to build buildings. They are the construction workers for Mr. Monopoly to build on Monopoly Island.

• 

  T-Rex (with a jackhammer)
• Hazel the Cat (with a lot of tools)
• Rubber Ducky (with a hard hat)
• Penguin (with a toolbox)

Pokemon Collector's Edition

• The tokens (non-pewter) are of Generation I Pokemon, the first 151. They are:
  • 1: Bulbasaur
  • 4: Charmander
  • 9: Blastoise
  • 25: Pikachu
  • 35: Clefairy
  • 150: Mewtwo

• Pokemon in Pewter token edition are also of Generation I Pokemon, the first 151. They are:
  • 4: Charmander
  • 25: Pikachu
  • 52: Meowth
  • 54: Psyduck
  • 61: Poliwhirl
  • 143: Snorlax

Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition

1. Cowboy Hat
2. Pretzel
3. Egyptian Head Mask
4. Tuk Tuk Wagon
5. Canadian Mountie
6. Kangaroo
7. London Black Cab
8. Chinese Dragon
9. Safari Hat
10. NASCAR Racecar
11. Boomerang
12. Windmill
13. Camel
14. Inca Mask
15. Sumo Wrestler
16. Matador
17. Inca Statue
18. Surfer
19. Russian Dolls
20. Baseball Glove
21. African Mask
22. Easter Island Head
23. Football
24. Koala

2017 Token Madness Edition

Potential New Tokens (in gold)

• Penguin
• CRT Television
• Modern Racecar
• Mr. Monopoly Emoji
• Rubber Duck
• Wristwatch
• Wheel
• Bunny Slippers

Classics (in pewter)

• Scottish Terrier
• Thimble
• (Classic) Automobile
• Cat
• Battleship
• Top Hat
• Wheelbarrow
• Shoe (or Boot)

Nintendo Collector's Edition

• A Koopa Shell
• An NES Controller
• Mario's Hat
• Donkey Kong's Barrel
• Link's Iron Boots
• Link's Hylian Shield

Phineas and Ferb Edition

6 tokens are in the game, as shown below:

Brave Collector's Edition

6 tokens:

• Tiara
• Quiver
• Magic Tart
• Bow & Arrows
• Target
• Sword

Futurama Collector's Edition

• Bender's Head
• What-If Machine
• Hypnotoad
• Brain Slug
• Seymore
• Planet Express Ship
• Leela's Boot

My Disney Villains Collector's Edition

The tokens all relate to the headgear of the various villains:

Sephora Edition

• Blow Dryer
• Compact
• Lipstick
• Mascara
• Mirror
• Powder Brush

Sonic the Hedgehog Collector's Edition

Star Wars Episode I Edition

• Light Side:
  • Queen Amidala
  • Qui-Gon Jinn
  • Anakin Skywalker
  • Jar-Jar Binks

• Dark side:
  • Darth Sidious
  • Darth Maul
  • Sebulba
  • Battle Droid

Star Wars: The Mandalorian Edition

Star Trek: Continuum Edition

• Vulcan Lyre
• TOS Shuttlecraft
• ST: V-era Phaser Pistol
• TOS Communicator
• TOS-era Command Chair
• Klingon Blood Wine Goblet

Coca-Cola Collector's Edition

• A bottle cap
• A delivery truck
• A Contour Glass
• A fountain dispenser
• A Coca-Cola Polar Bear
• An Original Hutchinson Bottle
• A Contour Bottle
• A Coca-Cola Santa

Monopoly: Empire

(OLD)

• The red Angry Bird.
• A bottle of Coca-Cola.
• An Xbox 360 controller.
• A Happy Meal.
• A pair of Beats by Dre.
• A Chevrolet car. (Camaro)

(NEW)

• A Paramount branded clapper board.
• A Ducati motorcycle.
• An Xbox 360 controller. (GOLD)
• A pack of McDonald's fries.
• A bottle of Coca-Cola. (GOLD)
• A Chevrolet car. (GOLD) (Corvette C7)

Hello Kitty Collector's Edition

• Kitty's bow
• Three apples
• Milk bottle
• Lunchbox
• Fishbowl
• Teddy

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas Collector's Edition

The Muppets

• Miss Piggy
• Kermit
• Fozzie Bear
• Animal
• Gonzo
• Swedish Chef

South Park Collector's Edition

South Park

• Eric Cartman

• 

  Stan Marsh
• Kyle Broflovski
• Kenny McCormick
• Butters Stotch
• Chef

The Simpsons

• Jebediah Springfield
• Kang
• Santa's Little Helper
• Homer Simpson
• Three-Eyed Fish
• Bart Simpson

Shrek

• Shrek
• Princess Fiona
• Pinocchio
• Gingy
• Puss in Boots
• Donkey

SpongeBob SquarePants

Playable Characters

• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Patrick Star
• Squidward Tentacles
• Eugene Krabs
• Sandy Cheeks
• Gary the Snail

Optional Non-playable Character (Enemy)

Junior Edition (2014)

While original versions lacked tokens, the Junior Edition's release in 2014 contained some tokens.

Transformer: Collectors Edition

• Optimus Prime
• Bumblebee
• Grimlock
• Megatron
• Soundwave
• Ravage

Monopoly for Millennials

The tokens are gold.

• Camera
• Hashtag (Pound Sign)
• Bicycle
• Sunglasses
• Laughing Emoji
• Mr. Monopoly Emoji
  

Monopoly Space

The tokens are made of molded plastic (instead of die-cast metal).

• Astronaut
• Rover
• Shuttle
• Satellite

Each token has their own gameboard quadrant of different colors to build their colonies.

Monopoly: Socialism

The tokens are colored red.

• Pocket Watch
• Television
• Typewriter
• Telephone
• Cellular Phone
• Gramophone

Monopoly: House Divided

• Blue Party
  • Donkey
  • Eagle
  • Peace Symbol
• Red Party
  • Elephant
  • U.S. Flag
  • Tea Cup

Monopoly: Longest Game Ever

There are only 4 tokens.

• Silver Rabbit
• Golden Rabbit
• Silver Turtle
• Golden Turtle
  

Unlicensed Versions

Anti-Monopoly

• Current Tokens: 6
• Anti-Monopoly's tokens are abstract designs, such as a crescent moon. 3 are blue and 3 are green.

Catopoly

• Mouse
• Tin of Sardines
• Can of Ocean Fish
• Fish
• Ball of Yarn
• Bottle of Milk

This article is not finished. If you know a Monopoly game with different tokens, please write about it here.

Monopoly: La que se avecina

Monopoly's tokens are 2013 utilities and locations.

• Race Car
• Hat
• Thimble
• Shoe (Boot)
• Cat
• Dog
• Ship
• Wheelbarrow

Gallery

References

THE world as we know is changing as Monopoly has announced it is ditching one of its iconic pieces.

Game players will soon wave goodbye to the thimble, which has been part of the board since it was launched in 1935 – but why is it being replaced and what will the new piece be?

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Why is the thimble being ditched from Monopoly?

The makers of Monopoly regularly change the line-up for new generations of game players.

Last month we told how all of the pieces were potentially facing the chop, with Monopoly chiefs asking the public to vote to save their favourites from the planned cull.

The vote saw the eight standard pieces vying for a place against 50 new designs, which include a rotary phone, a cowboy hat and a roller skate.

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Tragically it was the thimble that received the least votes, with makers of the game Hasbro announcing the news it is removing the playing piece.

The Monopoly Token Madness voting campaign attracted more than four million votes, yet not enough backed the thimble to keep it in future versions of the game.

It lost out to favourites such as the top hat, the mini motor car, the recently introduced cat (which was responsible for ejecting the iron in 2013) and the Scottie dog.

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When will the winner of the Monopoly vote be announced?

Only one of the current eight pieces will be chopped, the thimble, and the new winning replacement design will be announced on March 19.

And following this, the new Monopoly piece will arrive to a board game near you in August 2017.

In December we told how Monopoly chiefs set up a Christmas hotline to prevent board game bust-ups, after research found that over half of games end in acrimony.

What were the original Monopoly pieces?

Since Monopoly was introduced in the 1930s, many of the playing pieces have come and gone.

Some have stuck around since its launch, and others have been ditched.

Monopoly enthusiasts will know that there used to be six items in the famous playing game’s line-up.

The original six were:

• The top hat
• The thimble
• The iron (now retired)
• The shoe
• The battleship
• The cannon (now retired)

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A few more options were added in 1935 and 1936:

• The race car
• The purse (now retired)
• The rocking horse (now retired)
• The lantern (now retired)

And a further collection were added in the 1950s and later:

• Scottie dog
• Wheelbarrow
• Horse and rider (now retired)
• Sack of money (now retired)
• Cat (new in 2013)

What versions of Monopoly are there?

This isn’t the first time the public have been given their say on which piece will take them past GO.

In 2013, a vote meant that the iron was replaced by a cat, but there are many other editions available other than the classic board game.

There are many other cities other than London that are featured, such as Chicago edition, a New York-opoly and a New Zealand edition.

And then the sky is the limit for themed options that have hit shelves since its launch.

Some of the most creative include a Walking Dead Survival edition, a 007 James Bond Collector’s edition, a Beatles' Collector’s Edition and even a Sonic the Hedgehog Collector’s edition.

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How to always win at Monopoly?

You may think that Monopoly's a game of chance, and that there's no firm strategy to winning it.

But one woman who knows differently is 2015 UK Monopoly champion Natalie Fitzsimons, from Northern Ireland.

The 26-year-old was ranked sixth in the world when she beat her husband and three others to the UK and Ireland championship title.

First study the rule book, to find out how you've been playing the game wrong.

Then, here are Natalie's top tips:

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1. Borrow, borrow, borrow

We're not suggesting you do this in real life, but Natalie advises players to mortgage themselves to a hilt.

Stretching yourself financially to buy up streets and houses should allow you to make more money in the long run - in rent from other players.

Jessica says: "This always feels a little like cheating, but I never know why other people don't do it.

"As soon as you get a monopoly yourself, mortgage everything else and spend every penny on houses.

"A monopoly with three houses on each square is far more valuable with lots of low-rent single property squares. You can always 'un-mortgage' them later in the game."

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2. Cause a housing shortage

Never bother buying a hotel, houses are far more valuable - and limited.

This strategy is one Jessica shares with Imgur user Elpher, who says it's a little known fact that the Monopoly box only contains 32 houses and 12 hotels.

If you can afford to put four houses on each, that's only eight properties in total.

Elpher says: "The goal is to gain a second monopoly, and buy enough houses to create a housing shortage, effectively locking down the game for the other players."

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3. Go to jail - and stay there

Prison seems like the ultimate punishment, and most of us can't wait to get out of jail.

But towards the end, the best strategy is to stay in jail and rake in the cash - while not risking landing on anyone else's squares.

Natalie says: "In the early game you want to get out of jail as soon as possible.

"But once all the property squares have been bought sometimes the best thing is to wait patiently in jail.

"At the later stages of the game, it's better to be behind bars so you can still collect but don't land on expensive squares."

It may not seem the funnest way to win - but, according to Natalie, it is the most effective.

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4. NEVER buy Park Lane

For many, they're the most sought after squares on the board - but Natalie advises avoiding the purple properties.

They may have come with sky high rents, but they cost a fair bit to buy too.

And, for reasons we explained earlier, your mates aren't very likely to land on Park Lane.

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How can you turn it around when you're losing at Monopoly?

Going to jail can also be a good strategy if you're close to going bankrupt, and don't want to risk landing on anyone else's properties. Don't stay there forever though.

Another good, but sneaky, strategy is to form alliances and gang up on strong players.

Does your dad always win? Why don't you and one of your siblings make a pact to block his monopolies?

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What's the most landed on property in Monopoly?

This is the first question, if you're looking to rake in on rent.

According to the maths boffins, Trafalgar Square is the most landed on property on the cardboard London map - making it the most important one to buy.

They are working on the basis that the most occupied square is Jail - because of how easily Chance and Community Chest cards, as well as the dreaded Go To Jail square, send people to the clink, combined with the probability of landing there and being Just Visiting.

There are six different ways to roll a seven, 6 and 1, 1 and 6, 5 and 2, 2 and 5, 4 and 3, and 3 and 4 - making it the most likely roll.

Seven steps from Jail is the Community Chest, but another seven rolls will land you in red territory - and on Trafalgar Square.

The orange properties - on 6, 8 or 9 rolls - are also a smart buy. While the purple squares, despite having the highest rent, are unlikely to be landed on so often.

READ MORE

Your favourite Monopoly piece could be at risk… but you can vote now to save them

Monopoly chiefs set up Christmas hotline to prevent families having board game bust-ups

Sussex man holds title of world’s largest collector of Monopoly boards with 1,800 sets BUT admits he doesn’t actually like the game

You’ve been playing Monopoly wrong your whole life… here are the real rules just in time for Christmas

Topics

Since the 1930s, the popular board game Monopoly has had its iconic metal playing pieces—the top hat, the car, the iron—that have stood the test of time. However, the first ever Monopoly game did not have those game pieces. Actually, it did not come with any.​

The evolution of the playing tokens used in Monopoly over the years is an interesting story.

Early Monopoly

The first Parker Brothers Monopoly game was sold in 1935. In the original game, there were no player tokens. Players were told to use common household items, such as buttons, as markers. Before long, wooden tokens shaped like chess pawns were included in the game.

There was a 1936 edition of Monopoly that was selling on eBay in recent years that had rubber tokens—including a battleship, bear, car, dog, iron, shoe, and train. It is not clear if those tokens were officially produced or if it was a home-engineered project.

In 1937, the wooden chess pieces were replaced by metal tokens: the car, iron, lantern, purse, rocking horse, shoe, thimble, and top hat. Later that same year, the dog and battleship were added.

Parker Brothers temporarily returned to wooden playing pieces in 1942 due to war shortages of metal.

In the early 1950s, the lantern, purse, and rocking horse were removed from the game. They were replaced by the dog, horse and rider, and wheelbarrow. There were 10 tokens that included the battleship, boot, cannon, horse and rider, iron, racecar, dog, thimble, top hat, and wheelbarrow. These tokens would remain the same until the late 1990s. 

The Rise of Special Editions

In 1991, the game company Hasbro acquired Parker Brothers and Monopoly. Until then, Parker Brothers only issued two versions at a time, a regular and deluxe.

Under Hasbro, a tidal wave of licensed Monopoly versions inundated the board game world. There are hundreds of special editions. With that came an explosion of new playing pieces such as the captain's chair on the Starship Enterprise in the "Star Trek" version, a Pikachu in the "Pokemon" version, or a horse's head in "The Godfather" version. Variations on the game include online versions as well as a card game.

Pieces Added and Removed 

In 1998, the public was asked in a poll what their favorite playing pieces were. The most popular were the car at 18 percent and the dog at 16 percent. The least favorites were the wheelbarrow at 3 percent, followed by the thimble and the iron, both at 7 percent.

At the same time, Hasbro asked the public to vote on a new playing piece that would be added to the standard edition. The candidates were a "bag of money", a plane, and a piggy bank. The bag of money ended up winning with 51 percent of the vote. This brought the total number of pieces up to 11.

The cannon and horse and rider were both retired in 2000 with no new tokens taking their place. Another retirement came in 2007 with the bag of money that brought the total token count down to eight again.

From 2013 to 2017, there were more promotional campaigns and game piece decisions. The iron was replaced by a cat in 2013. In 2017, three more pieces were retired: the thimble, wheelbarrow, and shoe. They were replaced by a penguin, a Tyrannosaurus rex, and a rubber duck.