US Dollar vs. Monopoly Money
September 20th, 2011
Monopoly 1935
Economists use a lot of illustrative examples of hyperinflation in history. You’ll hear about wheelbarrows full of cash buying a loaf of bread, or pension checks only buying one cup of coffee. Or they’ll tell you about store owners doubling their prices day to day, or governments simply stamping old bills with extra zeros just to keep up. These examples all seem distant and foreign, fundamentally implausible to most Americans. But I think I’ve found an example that really drives the concept home.
The board game Monopoly from Parker Brothers is for many a quintessential symbol of capitalism. So much so that the game’s mascot, Rich Uncle Pennybags, is a frequent character in socialist political cartoons.
The first edition of Monopoly was made by Hasbro in 1935 and sold for just $2. Each set contained 15,140 Monopoly Dollars (MP$). So, in 1935 the exchange rate of MP$ to US Dollars was 1/7,570. In other words a US Dollar cost 7,570 MP$.
If you walk into a toy store today, behind all the special editions, the retail price on the standard Monopoly is about $12. Measured this way the US Dollar costs 1,261.66 MP$. That’s an 84% drop. Not bad, but you have to keep in mind that the 1935 edition came with wood and metal pieces, complete with wooden carrying case. So it’s not a fair comparison.
In 1985 Parker Brothers released a 50th Anniversary Commemorative edition which was made with the original materials. The set contained the same 15,140 MP$ with a retail value of $40. So, in 1985 the US Dollar cost 378.5 MP$. A 95% drop. In 2002 they produced another replica of the original 1935 set. It sold for $80 reducing the cost of the US Dollar to 189.25 MP$. By the time the 75th Anniversary rolled around they’d stopped making them out of wood. Instead they launched the 2010 Monopoly Revolution edition, which was still made of plastic and cardboard… but this time it was a circle instead of a square! Such is inflation. This is the board game equivalent of minting a new dollar coin made out of copper and pot metal, brushing it with brass and calling it a “golden dollar.” Or printing new bills with flashy new colored ink to distract people from the fact that the original materials are no longer affordable.
Lets put this in perspective. In the 67 years from 1935 to 2002 the price of the US Dollar in Monopoly Money went from 7,570 MP$ to 189.25 MP$. That’s a 97.5% reduction in the value of the US Dollar… measured against MONOPOLY MONEY!
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