“Pikachu with a gray felt hat”: That’s how much the Pokémon card is worth

For its 50th anniversary, the Van Gogh Museum came up with something very special: a Pokémon trading card featuring Pikachu wearing a gray felt hat. The card, now trading for hundreds of euros, caused a frenzy in the museum shop in advance.

Pikachu with a gray felt hat: What’s the deal with the trading card?

Vincent Van Gogh meets Pokémon: That could be the title of the trading card showing one of the popular Pokémon characters, Pikachu, wearing a felt hat. Based on the Dutch artist’s self-portrait, the Van Gogh Museum thought it would be a nice idea for its 50th anniversary.

• However, the plan backfired spectacularly: instead of Pokémon fans, it was mainly scalpers who stormed the museum shop to get their hands on the specially made Pikachu trading card.

• Their goal: in just a few minutes, the scalpers, a term for black market dealers, bought the special editions and sold them online via eBay and other sites for hundreds of euros to fans who had missed out. The same thing happened with special art prints featuring Pokémon motifs.

• Those who weren’t quick enough but wanted to add one of the coveted pieces to their collection had to pay between 200 and 500 euros for the card. It is currently being sold on Amazon for just under 360 euros.

• The current market value of the card, which caused a rush back in 2023, varies depending on the seller and the condition of the card. Experts already see similarities to other coveted trading cards such as the first Charizard edition, one of the most valuable Pokémon cards in the world.

• Incidentally, the museum had to cancel the sale at the time for security reasons, as some customers were behaving so badly.

Pikachu trading card even makes it onto “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”

The commotion surrounding the museum and the Pikachu trading card attracted a lot of media attention. The quiz team of the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” even included the trading card in their question repertoire.

• The show was broadcast on June 9, 2025.

• The exact question was: “In 2023, the trading card ‘Pikachu with a gray felt hat’ caused a huge rush in whose souvenir shop?” The choices were: A: Van Gogh Museum, B: Pablo Picasso Museum, C: Gustav Klimt Museum, and D: Albrecht Dürer Museum.

• The quiz show contestant received 32,000 euros for the correct answer. However, he first had to use his phone and 50:50 jokers.