Parker Brothers’ famous game of economics, Monopoly, has been called “the most played board game in the world. It’s certainly a believable title when you consider that, according to Hasbro, the game has been played by over 750 million people since Parker Brothers originally published it in 1935.

Monopoly is actually based on a game patented by Elizabeth J. Magie in 1906. The Quaker woman hoped to use The Landlord’s Game to explain Henry George’s single tax theory. Despite Magie’s original and renewed patents of the game, several versions of the game were created in the years before the game was published by Parker Brothers. The name Monopoly was first applied to the game in 1910 when a shortened version called “Auction Monopoly,” eliminating the Georgist elements of the game, became popular.

In 1933, Charles Darrow copyrighted his own version of the game, simply called Monopoly, and began shopping for publishers. Despite having rejected Magie’s original Landlord’s Game twice and Darrow’s Monopoly once, Parker Brothers eventually elected to publish the game n 1935. Despite having gone so far as to acquire Magie’s patent, as well as a lengthy lawsuit from 1976 to 1985 over the rights to the game, Parker Brothers doesn’t acknowledge the history of the game prior to Charles Darrow’s version.

Monopoli, the Fascist Edition

In spite of the game’s complex history, the most expensive Monopoly game is not a rare, antique board. That is not to say that there are no prized old editions of the game.

One particularly rare version, the fascist edition of Monopoli published in 1940s Italy, may have some value to collectors. This version was not published by Parker Brothers and was created to circumvent the fascist trade laws of Italy’s government at the time. The exact value of this version, however, is unknown.

Sidney Mobell’s Monopoly set

The most expensive Monopoly set, though, is a more recent creation. Instead, it’s a special board created by jeweler Sidney Mobell. It was crafted with rubies, diamonds, sapphires and 23k gold. Even the dice are encrusted with diamonds. This expensive Monopoly set is worth $2 million USD and has been certified by Guinness World Records as the most expensive Monopoly set in the world.

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