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.[1]
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$500, with all but the last paralleling the denominations in circulation in the United States (the U.S. $500 bill was withdrawn in 1969).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. [2]
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. [3] 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.[4]