Monopoly money
Encyclopedia
Monopoly money is a type of play money
used in the board game Monopoly
. It is different from American currency in that it is smaller, one-sided, and different colors until a redesign by the United States Treasury Department of U.S. paper currency in the first decade of the 2000s, when the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
adopted a very similar color scheme for the background color of U.S. paper currency.
The colors used by Monopoly money, by denomination, is:
The modern Monopoly game has its Monopoly money denominated in $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and $500, with all but the last paralleling the denominations in circulation in the United States (the U.S. $500 bill was withdrawn in 1969). Monopoly does not include a $2 bill; however, Monopoly Junior
does include the $2 in addition to $3 and $4 currencies (which do not exist in U.S. currency).
A fan has created a website which has a pdf file containing four realistic $1000 Monopoly bills that can be printed out for players who want a larger denomination for longer games. However, these bills closely resemble older Monopoly bills made prior to the 1990s, which do not feature the word "MONOPOLY®" printed on them.
Monopoly money is also a derisive term used in multiple senses. The most common is by countries that have traditionally had monochromatic money (such as the United States
) to refer to countries that have colorful money (such as Canada
). This has been used in places such as the "Weird Al" Yankovic
song Canadian Idiot
.
It can also be used as a derisive term to refer to money not really being worth anything, or at least not being used as if it is worth anything. This has been used when large companies trade securities amongst various entities to create fraudulent profits, and when governments such as Burma issue special currencies to foreign aid organization that cannot be traded on the free market and are therefore not really worth anything.
Play money
Play money is noticeably fake bills or coins intended to be used use as toy currency, especially for classroom instruction or as a marker in board games Play money is noticeably fake bills or coins intended to be used use as toy currency, especially for classroom instruction or as a marker in board...
used in the board game Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
. It is different from American currency in that it is smaller, one-sided, and different colors until a redesign by the United States Treasury Department of U.S. paper currency in the first decade of the 2000s, when the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Bureau of Engraving and Printing
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is paper currency for the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve itself is...
adopted a very similar color scheme for the background color of U.S. paper currency.
The colors used by Monopoly money, by denomination, is:
- $1 - white
- $5 - pink
- $10 - yellow (blue in some recent editions)
- $20 - green
- $50 - blue (purple in some recent editions)
- $100 - gold
- $500 - orange
- (Monopoly: The Mega Edition has $1000 - brown)
The modern Monopoly game has its Monopoly money denominated in $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and $500, with all but the last paralleling the denominations in circulation in the United States (the U.S. $500 bill was withdrawn in 1969). Monopoly does not include a $2 bill; however, Monopoly Junior
Monopoly Junior
Monopoly Junior is a simplified version of the board game Monopoly, aimed at young children. It has a smaller, rectangular board and instead of being based on street names it is based on a Funfair, to make it more child-friendly.-Board:...
does include the $2 in addition to $3 and $4 currencies (which do not exist in U.S. currency).
A fan has created a website which has a pdf file containing four realistic $1000 Monopoly bills that can be printed out for players who want a larger denomination for longer games. However, these bills closely resemble older Monopoly bills made prior to the 1990s, which do not feature the word "MONOPOLY®" printed on them.
Monopoly money is also a derisive term used in multiple senses. The most common is by countries that have traditionally had monochromatic money (such as the United States
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
) to refer to countries that have colorful money (such as Canada
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
). This has been used in places such as the "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
song Canadian Idiot
Canadian Idiot
"Canadian Idiot" is a 2006 song and single by "Weird Al" Yankovic from his album Straight Outta Lynwood. It is a parody of Green Day's "American Idiot". The song is mostly a sarcastic parody of the stereotypical American view of the Canadian way of life...
.
It can also be used as a derisive term to refer to money not really being worth anything, or at least not being used as if it is worth anything. This has been used when large companies trade securities amongst various entities to create fraudulent profits, and when governments such as Burma issue special currencies to foreign aid organization that cannot be traded on the free market and are therefore not really worth anything.