Valuing Your "Easy Money" Board Game: A Collector's Guide

What Is "Easy Money"?

Easy Money is a 1935 Milton Bradley real-estate trading game — a direct Monopoly competitor released the same year. It features a round board, a "Free Parking" jackpot, and different property names. Parker Brothers sued; they settled, and Milton Bradley continued production into the 1990s with multiple editions.

Edition Identification (Critical for Value)

Edition / Era	Box / Board Features	Approx. Value (Complete, Good-Excellent)
1935–1936 (First Editions)	Black box, gold lettering; round board; metal tokens; wood houses/hotels	$150–$400+
1937–1940s (Early)	Red/blue box; round board; cardboard tokens; wood/plastic houses	$80–$200
1950s–1960s (Mid-Century)	Square board introduced; plastic tokens; updated art	$40–$100
1970s–1980s	Box art modernized; "New Improved" rules; plastic everything	$25–$60
1990s (Final MB Runs)	Hasbro-era (post-1984 acquisition); standard rectangular box	$15–$40
Incomplete / Poor Condition	Missing money, cards, tokens, houses; box torn/taped	$5–$20

Condition Grading (Standard Collector Scale)

Mint (M): Shrink-wrapped, never played. Rare for vintage.
Excellent (Ex): All pieces present, near-perfect, box solid, minimal wear.
Good (Gd): Complete, playable, box wear (corners split, edges worn), pieces used but intact.
Fair (Fr): Missing 1–2 minor pieces (1 house, $50 bill), box damaged, board creased.
Poor (Pr): Major pieces missing, box destroyed, board torn.

Value Multipliers

Complete + Excellent: ×1.0 (base)
First Edition (1935): ×2–3×
Rare Variants: Canadian (Copp-Clark), UK (Waddingtons), promotional → ×2–5×
Original Price Tag / Receipt: +$20–50
Missing Components: −50–90% per missing category (money, cards, tokens, houses, rules).

How to Research Your Specific Copy

Identify edition: Copyright date on board/box; box color/art; token material; board shape (round vs. square).
Inventory: Count: $1, $5, $10, $50, $100, $500 bills (should be 30 each?); 22 Property Cards, 16 Chance, 16 Community Chest, 6 tokens, 32 houses, 12 hotels, 2 dice, rules.
Check sold listings: eBay → "Sold Items" filter → search "Easy Money board game [year]".
Consult: BoardGameGeek Marketplace, WorthPoint (paid), Ruby Lane, local antique toy dealer.

Reality Check

Most "Easy Money" games found in attics are 1970s–90s editions in Good condition = $20–40. The $200+ prices require 1935 first edition + Excellent + complete. Don't quit your day job — but do inventory it properly before listing.

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