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.
[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[]
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-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[]
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, 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[]
The 'Classic 10' Tokens
Battleship (1935)
Race Car (1935)
Top Hat (1935)
Scottish Terrier (1950)
Cat (2013)
Penguin (2017)
Rubber Ducky (2017)
Thimble (2022; Reworked Version)
Retired Tokens[]
Cannon (1935-1946)
Lantern (1935-1950)
Purse (1935-1950)
Rocking Horse (1935-1950)
Iron (1935-2013)
Boot (1935-2017)
Thimble (1935-2017; Original Version)
Car With Driver (1940-1950; Likely replaced with or reworked into Race Car)
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.
The standing playable tokens are (from the left): Gary, SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs, Patrick, Squidward, and Sandy. The optional non-playable coin-like token is Plankton.
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