Danish Butter Magnate's Hidden Coin Collection Sells for Record $16.5 Million at Auction

Following the death of the Danish butter magnate Lars Emil Bruun in 1923, his will had a curious order: His vast accumulation of coins, notes and medals

After nearly eight hours of bidding on Tuesday evening, the opening 286 lots of the L.E. Bruun Collection sold for a combined 14.82 million euros ($16.5 million) at its first auction in Copenhagen.

The sale, which began at 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET), was held at the Hotel d’Angleterre in the Danish capital, with several hundred people in attendance. It was livestreamed on Stack’s Bowers’ website and on several collecting platforms.

The numismatist’s vast accumulation of coins, notes and medals was subject to a curious order in his will following his death in 1923. Bruun stipulated that his collection be held as an emergency reserve for Denmark’s national collection in case it were ever destroyed. After a century, if all was well, his own cache could finally be sold to benefit his descendants.

Just under a year has passed since the 100-year-old order expired, and now Bruun’s personal 20,000-piece collection is being sold at a series of auctions. Once emptied, it will be the most expensive international coin collection ever sold, according to Stack’s Bowers.

The L.E. Bruun Collection was insured for 500 million Danish kroner, or around $72.5 million. The auction house has described it as the most valuable collection of world coins to ever come to market.

In a press release following Tuesday’s auction, Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ president, Brian Kendrella, described the first sale as “truly a landmark event for the world coin market.”

“The enthusiasm and participation from collectors around the world was palpable throughout the day, and the results speak for themselves,” Kendrella said. “We are thrilled to have achieved such strong prices for these incredible coins and look forward to continuing the sales in the months to come.”

The auction house had estimated that the first night of bidding would fetch around 10 million euros ($11.2 million), so the final total exceeded expectations. It included gold and silver coins from Denmark, Norway and Sweden,➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸➸