diff --git a/lib/rubygems/version.rb b/lib/rubygems/version.rb
index 903b7de99d..c319e1f820 100644
--- a/lib/rubygems/version.rb
+++ b/lib/rubygems/version.rb
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ class Gem::Version
   # string for backwards (RubyGems 1.3.5 and earlier) compatibility.
 
   def marshal_dump
-    [version]
+    [@version]
   end
 
   ##