My dad gave me a magazine before he died - turns out it was 'the one everybody wants' and worth $4,800

A MAN has sold a valuable magazine passed down by his late father after he found out it's in high demand and worth nearly $5,000.

The collector, Rocky, took the magazine, the first-ever issue of Playboy Magazine featuring Marilyn Monroe, to the Pawn Stars for an appraisal during an iconic episode.

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"I have something you might be interested in," he told Pawn Stars' Rick Harrison and Chumlee.

"It's the very first issue of Playboy — Volume 1, Issue 1 — The Marilyn Monroe Playboy."

The copy could be seen clearly by viewers, with a little bit of wear and tear around the edges over the years.

Marilyn could be seen waving in a black and white photo across the cover, with notes on the side that noted the rest of the issue would be in "full color for the first time."

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It was first released in December 1953 after Playboy was founded by Hugh Hefner and Eldon Sellers and sold for just 50 cents per copy.

A marking on the top left corner of the collector's issued noted it was purchased for 60 cents.

Rocky claimed that the purchaser was none other than his late father.

"My father bought it back in 1953," he told Rick.

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"Then, before he passed away, he gave it to me."

Rick told viewers that it was unlikely Playboy would've lasted longer had Marilyn not been in the very first issue.

MOVIE STAR

As he noted, it was only about one to two years before the issue came out that Marilyn started to become the pop culture icon she remains to this day.

She'd started getting modeling gigs and small roles but worked with a photographer on the nude photographs to make ends meet, according to Rick.

The pictures were never released, but then Marilyn later gained considerable stardom from movies like As Young as You Feel, Monkey Business, and Don't Bother to Knock, among others.

Rick said the photographer then sold the pictures to Playboy for the issue.

After the magazine release, Marilyn continued to become a legend in film before her death in 1962.

"Most Playboys are worth a few bucks — this is worth a few thousand," Rick said during the Pawn Stars episode.

Rocky told Rick he was seeking at least $2,000 for the first-edition Playboy.

After a bit of negotiating, Rocky settled on a price of $1,400.

Today, the average value for a first-edition in that condition is around $4,800, per Mental Floss.

Even so, some graded mint to near-mint by appraisers have sold at auction for upwards of $12,500.

There's even a listing on eBay for a first-edition signed by Hugh Hefner at $48,000.

Read More on The US Sun

For more on rare memorabilia, check out The U.S. Sun's coverage of a golf putter worth thousands thanks to an iconic singer from the same era as Marilyn.

The U.S. Sun also has the story of how a lucky customer managed to snag a pack of Lebron James trading cards worth $720,000 at a gas station.