A collection of Scandinavian coins kept together for a century by a will’s conditions will be sold in a series of auctions starting next month. The sellers say the L E Bruun collection is the most valuable collection of world coins to ever come to market.
Bruun was a Danish butter magnate and his collection was inspired by fear.
Having seen Denmark humiliated by Austro-Prussian military power in the Second Schleswig War at first hand and then witnessed the technological slaughter of WWI at a greater distance, Bruun was worried Denmark’s heritage might be destroyed in war.
So, when he died, his enormous collection of coins was willed as the reserve for the Royal Danish Coin and Medal collection for a century, ready to step in if Copenhagen’s museums were flattened in a future air war.
That hasn’t happened, though Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II. And now, the Bruun collection can be sold just over 100 years after his death in 1923.
Frederiksborg Castle where the Bruun Collection resided as a back-up national collection for many years.
The collection is insured for over $72 million and will be split up in a series of auctions by Stack’s Bowers that start in September.
The sales will encompass around 20,000 coins, medals and paper currency items. Most are from Denmark, some from Norway and Sweden, and some from the Danish rule of England.
Henrik Holt Christensen, Senior Director of Consignments at Stack’s Bowers Galleries, said: “As a native of Denmark, I am overjoyed that Stack’s Bowers Galleries has been entrusted with this prestigious task — a dream of mine since my early days as a coin enthusiast. Upon viewing the collection firsthand, I was struck by its sheer diversity and quality, offering a comprehensive narrative of Scandinavian monetary evolution. From entry-level pieces to exceedingly rare treasures that are the finest quality in existence, Bruun’s collection encapsulates Scandinavia’s millennium-long numismatic journey.”
Bruun’s unusual will kept his collection together and it is unusually complete. He was immensely rich and a genuine numismatist. He bought not just individual coins but whole collections to build his own.
Stack’s Bowers say the sales will cement his reputation as “among the most important coin collectors of all time.”
The most valuable item thus far is a King Hans noble from 1496 carrying an estimate of €300,000 to €600,000.
The sales begin on September 14, 2024 in Copenhagen.
