Tokens

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 untill it's 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, tophat, 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 peices are especially hard to find nowadays.

Early Pieces

Monopoly 1936-deluxe Tokens — 1936 Tokens (Deluxe Set)

The first pieces, from 1935 to about 1938, were made by the Dowst Manufacturing Company, makers of "Tootsietoys." These were die-cast 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 oxidise 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

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

Post-WWII Tokens

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, United Kingdom sets used cardboard cut-outs in coloured 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, aswell 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 driver, after 1938 these tokens were never see no gain except for the car with driver that survived and became a member of the monopoly family. Recently the piece along with the airplane have 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 driver are very easy to find if you are looking to aquire this shorter lived piece.

Standard Edition

Current tokens: 8

Monopoly 1940s-50s Tokens — The 'Classic 10' Tokens

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) 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

Monopoly: Electronic Banking Edition

Monopoly electronic edition tokens — Elecrtonic Banking Edition Tokens

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

.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 daywalks and nightwalks
A mountain bicycle, representing cycling
A tent, representing camping
A canoe, representing canoe-paddling
A fishing reel, representing fishing

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
- 36: 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