There are a few problems with the answers as given by Hasbro. Charles Darrow’s original patent drawings (dated 8-31-35) clearly show six metal tokens, seemingly identical to those packaged with early Parker Brothers games. As he sold the game to Parker Brothers in October 1935, it could very well be he did not have an opportunity to produce such tokens in his own run of 5,000 games from around this time period.
Evidence from sets that appear on eBay seems to show that some early Parker Brothers sets did include the familiar metal tokens. However, when 1936 rolled around, PB made a few changes in the game, and introduced the short-lived “wax wood” tokens. Other changes included making the money a bit larger, changing some colors on the deeds, adding illustrations to the Chance and Community Chest cards, and putting writing on the backs of the deed cards so they could be identified when mortgaged.
PB made more than one variety of set. There were a few versions in different price ranges, and some of these sets appear to have used wooden tokens similar to chess pawns prior to WWII. Identical tokens were also used in contemporary PB board games like Finance.
Some deluxe sets were made in 1937 and these included some new “tall” tokens, including a trolley.
Another bit of trivia… the man holding the money shown on the front of the box is supposed to be Charles B. Darrow himself.
He put his own picture on the game when he was marketing it to department stores in the Philadelphia area. When Parker Brothers took it over, they continued to use the same image.
This is not the same as the “Rich Uncle” character that appeared on the Community Chest and Chance cards in 1936.
But Darrow’s original patent drawings do show metal tokens and they are the thimble, cannon, flatiron, top hat, shoe and battleship. So this was an idea that Darrow took to Parker Brothers, not something they created later.
That’s a pretty long URL and you might have to play with that in your browser to get it to work. In this image, the six metal tokens are clarly visible (as Figure 2).
You can also read the name of the applicant (Charles B. Darrow) and the date (August 31, 1935).
The entire patent document is 14 pages long, and only the first page is reproduced. Presumably, there is some additional explanation elsewhere in the document for how the tokens are to be used. I assume at first the game was suggested for use by 2-6 players.
There is also information available on the web about the Monopoly games Darrow sold prior to hooking up with Parker Brothers. A few years ago, a Darrow “white box” in unused condition was sold on eBay for $8,000.
The Darrow white box edition did not come with tokens.
When Darrow sold his game to Parker Brothers in October 1935, they began selling a version (commonly called the “1935 First Edition,” sometimes called the “Patent Pending” version) pretty much identical to the Darrow white box, but with the addition of the Parker Brothers name and the metal tokens shown in the patent drawings.
Parker Brothers didn’t make any additional changes until 1936. Apparently the “wax/wood” tokens weren’t popular and didn’t catch the public’s fancy like the metal ones had. So the composite tokens were short-lived (they turn up in early sets on eBay) and PB’s next step was to introduce additional new metal tokens in 1937.
Here’s a link to a picture of some late 1930s style Monopoly tokens. Excepting the race car (added later), you’ll see that these tokens appear nearly identical to the ones in Darrow’s patent application- including the uplifted bottom on the top hat.
So, the story as provided by Hasbro cannot possibly be correct. Their information contains some truths and some other things that cannot possibly be true. The overall impression is they’re claiming credit for something they did not do.
But that has been a hallmark of the history of Monopoly. Until the late 1970s, Parker Brothers tried to maintain that Darrow was the sole originator of the game.
Since then, much information has come out to show that the game developed over a period of 30 years from something patented in 1904 (The Landlord’s Game).
By the time someone taught Atlantic City Monopoly to Darrow in 1933, the game and the rules had evolved pretty much to what we know today. His contribution was to create copyrighted original artwork and start marketing the game on a larger scale.
He wasn’t even the first to market a game like this… earlier versions (The Landlord’s Game, Finance, etc.) had been marketed. After Parker Brothers realized the game would be a huge success (saving the company from imminent bankruptcy) they bought up all the rights to these games, including the original patents for The Landlord’s Game.
I have a collection of Monopoly tokens. 133 and counting. It can get expensive, a couple of the companies that make various versions of Monopoly (under license, of course) will not sell tokens by themselves. They insist, you want the tokens, you buy the games. As a result I also own 17 different Monopoly games. My wife just bought the Mickey Mouse 75th Anniversary Monopoly. She hid the tokens so I wouldn’t take them.
You can look at the patent documents for anything at the US Patent Office, if you know the number. Charles Darrow’s Monopoly game is US Patent number 2026082 (click the “images” button). The first page clearly shows the thimble, cannon, flat iron, hat, shoe (which is the coolest!) and battleship. Um… which doesn’t match the staff report either, as Parker claims that the battleship and cannon were added in 1937. For comparison, also see the “original” Monopoly game – US Patent 748626 – Elizabeth Magie’s Landlord Game (thanks History Detectives!) and a later version – patent 1509312 (referenced on the Monopoly game board).
