Descendants of Lars Emil Bruun, the Danish butter magnate, have waited precisely a century to lay claim to their now $72 million inheritance. However, their patience was not by choice.
Reportedly, at least one grandchild attempted unsuccessfully to contest Bruun’s will, which stipulated that his extensive 20,000-piece coin collection remain untouched and securely stored, only to be auctioned off after a century had passed.
Finally, after a long wait, the time has arrived. The impressive collection of coins and medals will be gradually auctioned off over the span of several years through the esteemed coin auction house and dealer, Stack’s Bowers. Vicken Yegparian, the company’s vice president for numismatics, expressed astonishment upon first learning about the collection a couple of years ago.
Preserving Cultural Heritage
Throughout his lifetime, Bruun (1852-1923) assembled an extraordinary assortment of coins, medals, and paper currency, primarily focusing on regions with ties to Scandinavia.
According to Yegparian, Bruun’s collection encompasses items from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, as well as territories formerly under Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish dominion. This includes diverse locations such as the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Tranquebar (now Tharangambadi), a former Danish settlement in India. Notably, Bruun even amassed English coins dating back to the period of Danish rule, including a substantial selection from the reign of King Canute of England.
However, as Bruun accumulated these treasures, he began to contemplate their significance on a national scale. Having experienced the ravages of World War I firsthand, Bruun understandably harbored concerns regarding the preservation of Denmark’s cultural heritage. Consequently, he conceived of his collection as a supplementary resource to the Royal Danish Collection of Coins and Medals, viewing it as a safeguard against potential threats. According to Brian Kendrella, president of Stack’s Bowers, Bruun stipulated that if, after a century, the national collection remained intact, his own collection would be deemed expendable and could be auctioned publicly. The proceeds would then be distributed among his direct heirs.
For the past century, Bruun’s collection has largely remained untouched, accessible to scholars upon request but otherwise securely stored away from public view, Kendrella notes.
Living with a Treasure Trove
His heirs chose not to provide any comments through the auction house. However, the Danish media has maintained interest in this narrative for years. Periodically, Bruun’s descendants have offered public remarks regarding the impending inheritance. One descendant mentioned that his father worked as a taxi driver and humorously speculated about buying a new golf set if and when the collection was eventually sold.
Yegparian points out the irony that by safeguarding his collection for a century, Bruun effectively secured his family’s wealth across generations. “I recall reading that in the late teens or early 1920s, Bruun’s net worth was estimated at around $200 million in today’s currency,” he mentions. “Over time, the collection has gained significant value beyond what it might have been in 1923.”
Consequently, the current beneficiaries “haven’t acquired wealth through inheritance or similar means,” Kendrella notes. While negotiating with a select group of heirs (the total number remains undisclosed) to secure the consignment of the collection, Kendrella admits he hasn’t directly discussed with them the impact of having this inheritance within the family for a century. Nonetheless, he observes that after previous unsuccessful attempts to contest the will, the heirs have displayed patience, adopting an attitude of “It will be what it will be,” and have proven to be delightful to collaborate with.
Liquidating the Collection
Stack’s Bowers is currently in the process of cataloging the collection, which was last fully documented after Bruun’s passing. According to Kendrella, the inventory includes individual items listed simply as “43 medals.” However, he asserts that the collection comprises approximately 20,000 objects in total. This encompasses roughly 15,000 coins, 4,600 medals and tokens, 330 banknotes, and around 1,800 book titles, many of which span multiple volumes.
Regarding valuation, Kendrella explains that it is based on the collection’s insured value of 500 million Danish kroner (equivalent to US$72 million). While insurance appraisals can sometimes be inflated, Kendrella asserts that all assessments conducted thus far support this valuation as reasonably accurate.
Given the sheer volume of the collection and its specialized subject matter, the auction house is still devising strategies for its sales and identifying target markets. Recent years have seen numerous records broken in the coin collecting market. In 2021, Sotheby’s set records by selling a gold coin for $18.9 million, while earlier this month, Stack’s Bowers achieved a world record for a bronze medal sold at auction, fetching $900,000 for a Comitia Americana medal.
Kendrella notes that unlike some other markets, such as sports cards, the coin market has experienced sustained, steady growth during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. Consequently, prices have not witnessed the same drop-off seen in other categories over the past 12 to 18 months.
Yegparian identifies several potential markets for the Bruun collection. He highlights domestic Scandinavian demand as a primary target but also anticipates significant interest from international collectors, particularly for the collection’s rarest items. While acknowledging a dual nature in the coin market, with intense demand at the top end and less fervent interest elsewhere, Yegparian predicts that collectors from America, Europe, and Asia, attracted by the collection’s narrative, rarity, and value, will vie for these prized pieces.
