September 2023 provided a prime example of why we can't have nice things, as an anniversary collaboration between Amsterdam's Van Gogh museum and the Pokémon Company descended into scalper-fuelled chaos. The event was intended to celebrate the museum's 50th anniversary and featured Van Gogh-inspired art of Pokémon by key series artists: but the big mistake was that attendance came with a limited-edition Pokémon card.
As soon as the exhibition opened, it was flooded by unscrupulous individuals looking to get as many cards as they could, and sell them online at a huge mark-up. The card in question is Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat, inspired by Van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, and currently goes on eBay for anything between $100-350. Just over two weeks after opening, the Van Gogh museum threw its hands up, and stopped distributing the cards entirely.
