Just how old is that dusty Monopoly set in your loft? Could it be a Pre-War edition from the late 1930s, shortly after Monopoly reached these shores from the US in 1936? Or is it from the late 1950s, when rock 'n' roll was changing popular culture? With our unique Monopoly Reckoner you can now find out.
During the years 1936 - 1959 Monopoly was packaged as separates - the cards, notes and playing pieces were packaged in a small red and white box and the folding board was stored by itself (often resulting in the loss of the board). So, if you have an odd looking Monopoly set the chances are it is over 50 years old. And by answering just a few questions about the components, the Monopoly Reckoner can give you its approximate age. Details on our classification system and answers to other questions can be found below. Apologies to our US visitors: the Reckoner is currently for British editions only.
Look at your Monopoly set.
Do the money, cards and playing pieces come in a small box similar to the one in the image?
Note: the board is not required to date your set.
Look at any of the station title deeds.
Does it say 'British Railways' under the station name?
Look carefully at a title deed card.
Is at least one side serrated as in the image?
Tip: the easiest way to tell if a side is serrated or smooth is to run your finger gently down its edge.
Take a '5' banknote and turn it over.
Is the back uncoloured as in the image?
The colour and design of the front of your banknote may differ from the one shown.
Take a '5' banknote and turn it over.
Is the back uncoloured as in the image?
The colour and design of the front of your banknote may differ from the one shown.
Look at the centre of the '5' banknote.
Is there a patent number printed under the large numeral?
The colour and design of your banknote may differ from the one shown.
We classify your set as a Pre-War Edition, published between 1936 and c1939.
Simply cut and paste the following plain text for your online auctions and other communications.
We classify your set as an Early Wartime Edition, most likely published between 1940 and 1942.
Simply cut and paste the following plain text for your online auctions and other communications.
We classify your set as an Austerity Edition, most likely published between 1943 and 1947.
Simply cut and paste the following plain text for your online auctions and other communications.
We classify your set as a Post-War Edition, most likely published between 1948 and 1952.
Simply cut and paste the following plain text for your online auctions and other communications.
We classify your set as an Mid 50s Edition, most likely published between 1953 and 1955.
Simply cut and paste the following plain text for your online auctions and other communications.
We classify your set as a Late 50s Edition, most likely published between 1956 and 1959.
Simply cut and paste the following plain text for your online auctions and other communications.
Currently the Monopoly Reckoner can only be used with editions that had a small red and white box (as shown in the image).
Your set could date from the 1960s or the 1970s (from 1980s onwards copyright notices usually included a date on the rules and box so dating your set should be straightforward). It could be an older special edition - by all means contact us if you have questions.
The 'Monopoly Reckoner' name, the question set, logic and classification system are intellectual property of Dice Maestro Ltd.
Our Monopoly Classification System
The great variety of British Monopoly sets from 1936 to 1959 is due to the impact of World War II. The scarcity of raw materials and components in Britain from about 1940 right through to the early 1950s meant that the manufacturer, John Waddingtons of Leeds, had to often change the production. For example, a spinner had to be introduced into sets during the war as a replacement for the dice, which were increasingly difficult to source. Ironically these spinners can be hard to find today because the owners often threw them out and replaced them with newly purchased dice after the war.
The variation in components provides the basis for dating a set to a particular period of time. We classify Monopoly sets of this era into six periods determined by the changing components. This is why the periods are not uniform in duration although, coincidentally, they do form a symmetrical series. The periods are:
Shortages of materials were greatest during the period we call Austerity. Monopoly sets often had spinners, cardboard pieces on wooden bases, more roughly cut hotels and houses and poorer quality banknotes. This is in sharp constrast to the Pre-War editions that had intricate metal trinkets for playing pieces, finely cut wooden hotels and houses and better quality banknotes and deeds. By the early 1950s the sets reflected the better economic times, coloured metal pieces and better quality components appeared. In the 1960s the trinkets re-appeared, although using a different set of charms from the initial sets of the late 1930s, along with plastic hotels and houses. It was at this time that the box also changed - the familiar red and white long box was introduced and the separates were soon history.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is the Monopoly Reckoner? Generally the Reckoner is highly accurate for the range of dates it provides. So long as the Monopoly set is genuine (i.e. not a mix of sets) then the Reckoner will be totally accurate in differerentiating, say, a Pre-War edition from a Post-War edition. Of course, there are always borderline cases where a game may fall into one period or the next but this is true of any grouped classification system like this. With a few more criteria and questions it is possible in most cases to date a game to an approximate year or couple of years but this is beyond the interest of most people.
How can we tell if our set is a first edition? Because there were several different early variations produced, we define a British Monopoly first edition as a set produced by Waddingtons in 1936. To be a first edition it is necessary that the Monopoly Reckoner dates your set to a Pre-War edition. Then an examination of a few more criteria can reveal if a set is from 1936. We may add this feature to a future version of the Reckoner.
Can we use the dating in our online auction descriptions? Yes, but please use the text provided. This is because it is good practice to state the source of your information and also because the Monopoly Reckoner is provided free for anyone to use. The more people know about the Reckoner and use it, the more we will be able to develop it in the future.