[imagesource: Denstore Dunsk]

When Danish ‘butter magnate’ Lars Emil Bruun died in 1923, his will had a curious order: His vast collection of coins, notes and medals – amassed over more than six decades – should be held as an emergency reserve for Denmark’s national collection in case it was ever destroyed.

Bruun insisted that if all was well after 100 years, the coins could finally be sold to benefit his descendants. And they are about to benefit big time.

Just under a year since the 100-year-old order expired, the first set of coins from Bruun’s 20,000-piece collection went up for auction in Copenhagen and after nearly eight hours of bidding, the opening 286 lots sold for a combined $16.5 million (R290 million).

Stack’s Bowers, the rare coin dealer and auction house hosting the sales said that once all the lots have been sold, it would be “the most expensive international coin collection ever sold”. Considering that the L.E. Bruun Collection was insured for $72.5 million (R1.27 billion), the 100-year wait was worth it.

According to the sales catalogue, Bruun started collecting coins as a young kid in 1859 when his uncle passed away and listed him as one of the receivers of some of his coins.

He was a landowner and innkeeper’s son who discovered in his 20s that his family’s fortune had been wasted and that he was deeply in debt. With a loan, he started his own butter company and went on to make a fortune through exports and sales.

“People who are exclusively devoted to their business make a great mistake. I, for one, could never imagine thinking about nothing but butter until my dying days.”

He became known as a renowned coin collector and founded the Danish Numismatic Society in 1885 thanks to his fortune.

“The good thing about collecting coins is that when you are upset about something or you feel unsettled, then you go and look at your coins, and then you calm down by studying them again and again pondering the many unsolved problems they present.”

Coins from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden dating from the late 15th century to the last years of Bruun’s life were among the gold and silver items up for auction on Tuesday.

According to a catalogue of King Hans dated from 1496, the star lot was among the earliest gold coins in Scandinavia. According to Stack’s Bowers Galleries, the coin shattered auction house forecasts to bring in $1.34 million (R23 million), setting a new global record for Scandinavian coins.

[image: Stack’s Bowers Galleries]

Over the past few months, the coins toured different fairs and were exhibited at Stack’s Bowers’ galleries. They were also put on display in Copenhagen just before the sale.

[source:cnn]