Vast coin collection of Danish magnate is going on sale a century after his death
The vast coin collection of a Danish butter magnate is set to finally go to on sale a century after his death, and could fetch up to $72 million
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — The vast coin collection of a Danish butter magnate is set to finally go on sale a century after his death, and could fetch up to $72 million.
Lars Emil Bruun, also known as L.E. Bruun, stipulated in his will that his 20,000-piece collection be safeguarded for 100 years before being sold. Deeply moved by the devastation of World War I, he wanted the collection to be a reserve for Denmark, fearing another war.
Now, over a century since Bruun’s death at the age of 71 in 1923, New York-based Stack’s Bowers, a rare coin auction house, will begin auctioning the collection this fall, with several sales planned over the coming years.
On its website the auction house calls it the “most valuable collection of world coins to ever come to market.” The collection's existence has been known of in Denmark but not widely, and it has has never been seen by the public before.
“When I first heard about the collection, I was in disbelief,” said Vicken Yegparian, vice president of numismatics at Stack’s Bowers Galleries.
“We’ve had collections that have been off the market for 100 years plus,” he said. “But they’re extremely well known internationally. This one has been the best open secret ever.”
Born in 1852, Bruun began to collect coins as a boy in the 1850s and '60s, years before he began to amass vast riches in the packing and wholesaling of butter.
His wealth allowed him to pursue his hobby, attending auctions and building a large collection that came to include 20,000 coins, medals, tokens and banknotes from Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
Following the devastation of
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