Gold And Jewel-Encrusted Monopoly Game Set
An 18-karat gold version of the famous Parker Brothers board game are on display beginning Friday at the Museum of American Finance. The gold and jewel-encrusted Monopoly is estimated to be worth roughly $2 million. San Francisco jeweler Sidney Mobell created the set in the 1980s after he heard about a Monopoly tournament taking place in London. It took a year to complete, and it’s only been played once, in an exhibition game between Mobell and former British Prime Minister Edward Heath. Mobell donated it to the Smithsonian in 2003.
The set of dice alone is valued at $10,000, with 42 full-cut diamonds for the number dots. All of the properties that make up the game board are also set in gems, with some 165 gemstones in total. The ‘Chance’ and ‘Community Chest’ cards are photo-etched. An ounce of gold cost between $360 and $460 when Mobell started working on the game set. Now the price of gold has topped $1,300 an ounce. The Monopoly board are on display at the Museum of American Finance for two years, on loan from the Smithsonian.
Mobell, 84, has staked out a career as an unconventional crafter of decadence. He’s made diamond-encrusted yo-yos and mousetraps, as well as solid gold sardine cans, cellphones and eyeballs.
