Pokémon sticker cards - Dunkin bubble gum (Europe)
One of the reasons why sticker cards such as Topps' Garbage Pail Kids and Wacky Packages have become so collectable is because many of them ended up stuck to school children's lunch boxes and exercise books, making it difficult to compile complete sets in mint condition. Spanish bubble gum manufacturer Dunkin recently released a series of collectable Pokémon sticker cards that might also prove to be valuable in the future.
Dunkin's series is made up of 151 trading card sized stickers, depicting each of the first 151 Pokémon characters. Each sticker features a white border and has the name of the Pokémon shown in English and two other languages. On the back of each sticker is one of three different set checklists.
Card Zine has seen the stickers being sold in two different styles of foil packaging, each of which is available in two colours, red and blue. The first packaging style is similar to that used for packs of collectable album stickers. Most retailers in the UK appear to be selling the stickers in red packets which are of this style. Card Zine has so far only seen blue packs of this style being given away as free gifts with a Pokémon video games magazine. The second style of packaging is similar to that used for the vast majority of trading card series. Card Zine has seen red packs of this style for sale in France, though we have yet to come across them in the UK. Blue packets of this style are available through some UK retailers.
Packs of Dunkin Pokémon stickers sell for 30p in the UK and are available through newsagents shops. Packs contain three stickers and two individually wrapped pieces of strawberry flavour gum. The series is being distributed by Panini. It would appear as though no album has been produced for the stickers.
>> This article was added to Card Zine in summer 2000.
Update, summer 2001
Second series of sticker cards
Dunkin recently released a second series of Pokémon sticker cards. These stickers are similar in format to those in the first series, and feature new Pokémon characters together with original ones. The collection seems to have been produced with a rarer parallel set, since one of the stickers in each pack is printed on holographic foil. Card Zine has not come across any checklists for the series. The backs of all the stickers we have so far are the same, featuring the Boomer bubble gum and Pokémon logos and stating that there are "new characters to collect". Card Zine found packs of the new series selling in a newsagents priced 35p. Each pack contains three stickers and two pieces of strawberry Boomer brand gum. We are unsure as to the number of stickers making up the set.