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Controversial Van Gogh Pikachu Card Returns To Museum

The Pikachu Van Gogh cards, which caused a riot last time, will return to the Van Gogh Museum for sale.

Last September, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam announced a Pokémon x Van Gogh collaboration, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the museum. For this, the museum chose Pikachu – the most iconic character of the franchise – as the face of the campaign. The special cards issued at the event featured the character in a yellow hat, similar to Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat (1887). The objective of the campaign was also an attempt to reach younger audiences and tackle the declining footfall in the museum.

The collaboration was a success as soon as it opened to the general public – albeit, a bit too much of a success In October, the huge crowd attempting to get their hands on the cards caused a riot at the museum. The commotion was caused because many people tried to buy the limited-edition cards and sell them later at premium prices. The museum tried to limit the availability of the cards to quell the chaos but was forced to cancel it ultimately.

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However, now the Pokémon company and the Van Gogh Museum have decided to re-release the cards to the general public. The sale will open either in mid-February or March. This time the museum will have additional security to tackle any commotion. The cards will also be available at a few Dutch stores, though limited to 100 copies each. Furthermore, buyers would have to buy Pokémon merchandise worth at least €30 ($33) to be eligible to buy the cards.