One of the most sought-after Pokemon TCG cards, the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat, is now selling for $1,000 at grade 10 nearly two years after its debut. The infamously rare Pokemon TCG card was originally distributed at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam in 2023 and quickly became the target of scalpers and collectors.
The Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat card is the 85th Black Star promo card in the Pokemon TCG's Scarlet and Violet collection, inspired by Vincent van Gogh's 1887 painting, "Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat." The card was part of a collaboration between Pokemon and the Van Gogh Museum, headlined by merchandise that featured six unique pieces of Pokemon artwork inspired by Van Gogh's works. While the Pikachu card was originally made as a prize for exhibition attendees, its rarity made it attractive to scalpers. Additionally, four of the Van Gogh Museum's staff were reportedly fired after an investigation revealed that they tried to steal a box full of Pikachu cards intended for the exhibition.
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Infamous Pikachu With Grey Felt Hat Card Going for Over $1,000 on eBay
Although the Pokemon TCG had a limited reissue of the Van Gogh collection via the Pokemon Center website, the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat card has since gone out of print entirely. Ergo, its price has skyrocketed on sites like TCGPlayer and eBay, with the former site offering the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat card for as low as $650 before shipping and handling. The price of the card is a sharp jump compared to October 2024, when it was listed between $124 and $160. However, the $650 price is for a grade 9, near-mint condition version of the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat card. Collectors looking for a grade 10 version must be prepared to spend over $1,000 on eBay, as only a few listings of the rare Van Gogh promo card are available as of this writing, and bids are expected to increase over time.
As a way to counteract scalpers, retailers like Walmart have locked some of their incoming Pokemon TCG offers behind a subscription or a paywall. In Walmart's case, the retailing giant granted early access to the Pokemon TCG Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box exclusively to Walmart+ subscribers. Plans start at $12.95 per month, or $98 annually, and Pokemon TCG early access deals through this service are expected to continue.
While other rare Pokemon TCG cards have gone for much higher prices than the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat card, the practice of reselling cards continues unabated. Only time will tell what The Pokemon Company will do in its ongoing battle to counteract scalpers.
- Franchise
- Pokemon
- Original Release Date
- October 20, 1996
Pokemon TCG (Trading Card Game) is a collectible and strategy based card game based on Nintendo's Pokemon franchise. Two players face off against one another, battling one Pokemon at a time and attempting to knock them out to claim one of six prize cards. The cards have also become highly collectible with some in particular selling for thousands of dollars.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra infoSource: IGN