December 1953 #1

The first issue, published in December 1953, did not carry a date, as Hefner was unsure whether there would be a second issue. It was produced in Hefner's Hyde Park kitchen. The first centerfold was Marilyn Monroe, although the picture used had originally been taken for a calendar, rather than for Playboy, and was originally named the sweetheart of the month. Estimated circulation was 53,991 (Source: Playboy Collector's Association Playboy Magazine Price Guide). There are unsubstantiated rumors that up to 30,000 were destroyed by law enforcement officials, and that there were 3 DIFFERENT printings of Issue 1 (The Normal Issue, the Red Star Issue, and the Page 3 Issue) The cover price was 50¢. Copies of the first issue in Mint to Near Mint condition sell for thousands of dollars, and a copy of the first issue of Playboy, autographed by Joe DiMaggio supposedly sold at a Sotheby's auction for over $40,000. There is some that say it was a forgery, as well as an issue with Marilyns signature on it. As far as I know, the highest price paid for a Playboy magazine has been 99,000.00 for an autographed by Hugh Hefner Number 1 graded a spectacular 9.6 by CGC. There have been sales of other issues non CGC graded for as high as 71,700.00 that can be verified. Some estimate that only a couple hundred Near Mint issues still exist.

There are differing views on which variants are more rare. According to CGC Census statistics, the Red Star edition is the rarest, followed by the Page 3 Issue then the Newsstand edition. These are only the stats for graded issues, but that is about all we can go on.