Denmark’s Butter King’s vast coin collection is finally up for sale a century after his death and could fetch up to $72 million.
Lars Emil Bruun, also known as LE Bruun, stipulated in his will that his 20,000-piece collection would be protected for 100 years before being sold. Deeply moved by the horrors of World War I, he wanted to keep his collection in Denmark as a reserve, fearing another war.
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More than a century after Bruun’s death in 1923 at the age of 71, New York-based rare coin auction house Stax Bowers has begun auctioning the collection this fall, with several sales planned in the coming years. has been done.
The auction house calls it “the most valuable collection of world coins ever to come to market” on its website. Although the existence of this collection was known in Denmark, it was not widely known and had never been seen by the general public.
“When I first heard about this collection, I was in disbelief,” said Vicken Yegparian, vice president of numismatics at Stack’s Bowers Gallery.
Numismatists at Stack’s Bowers Gallery hold a gold coin that once belonged to the collection of King Frederick VII of Denmark and is now part of Le Brun’s collection, May 7, 2024 in Zeeland, Denmark Mr. Vicken Yegparyan, Vice President in charge. Photographed on May 7, 2024. A work by Denmark’s King Butter is finally going up for sale a century after his death, and could fetch up to $72 million. Lars Emil Bruun, also known as LE Bruun, stipulated in his will that his 20,000-piece collection would be protected for 100 years before being sold. (AP Photo/James Brooks)
“Some of our collections have not been on the market for over 100 years,” he said. “But they are very well known internationally. This is the best open secret of all time.”
Born in 1852, Brune began collecting coins as a boy in the 1850s and ’60s, years before he began amassing a fortune in the butter packing and wholesale business.
His wealth allowed him to pursue hobbies such as participating in auctions and building a large collection that included 20,000 coins, medals, tokens, and banknotes from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
After the devastation of World War I, Bruun, fearing another war, left strict instructions for the collection in his will.
“For 100 years after my death, the collection shall serve as a reserve for the Royal Coin and Medal Collection.”
“However, if the next century passes with the national collection intact, it shall be sold at public auction and the proceeds shall be given to my lineal descendants.”
Even this provision did not stop some descendants from attempting to break the will and cash in, without success. “I think the will was pretty ironclad. There were no loopholes,” Yegparian said.
Yegparian predicts that some pieces may sell for as little as $50, while others could sell for more than $1 million. He said potential buyers were already requesting catalogs before the auction was announced.
The collection was first stored at Frederiksborg Castle, the former residence of the Danish royal family, and then transferred to the National Bank of Denmark.
The National Museum of Denmark, which has a no-first-sale right to parts of its collection, purchased seven rare coins from Brune’s vast trove before they were put up for auction.
All seven coins (six gold and one silver) were minted by Danish or Norwegian monarchs between the 15th and 17th centuries. The cost of more than $1.1 million was covered by sponsoring organizations.
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“We chose unique coins, which are described in the literature as the only extant specimens of their kind,” said Helle Holsnes, senior coin expert at the National Museum.
“The sheer fact that this collection was closed for 100 years is what makes it legendary,” Horsness said. “It’s like a fairy tale.”
