Item number: A1485

Year: AD 1692

Material: Gold

Size: 19.0 x 19.0 mm

Weight: 3.46 g

Manufactured by: Copenhagen Mint

Provenance:

1. Stack’s Bowers 2024

2. L.E. Brunn Collection

3. Johan G. Guidal Collection 1918

This is a gold coin with a denomination of 1 ducat, issued in the year AD 1692 by Christian V, the ruler of the Kingdom of Denmark and Norway. This coin was previously part of the personal collection of Lars Emil Bruun, a Danish numismatist and the “Butter King.” Bruun’s collection is not only a national treasure of Denmark but also an informal culture reserve for the nation.

The obverse of the coin features a left-facing equestrian portrait of Christian V, depicted in military attire and riding a noble steed. The reverse displays a complex geometric motif, which is the personal cipher of Christian V. Hidden within the cipher are the letters “CW” and the minting year “1692.” Surrounding the cipher is a series of concentric circles adorned with three crowns, and the Latin inscription “PIETATE ET IVS TITIA,” meaning “Piety and Justice.”

In AD 1670, Christian V ascended to the throne as king. During his reign, he appointed Count Peder Griffenfeld as prime minister, which led to notable achievements in Denmark’s economy and diplomacy. King Louis XIV of France even praised Griffenfeld as one of the most skilled diplomats of his time. However, in AD 1675, Christian V launched the Scanian War to reclaim the territories ceded to Sweden under the Treaty of Roskilde. Despite his efforts, the war ended in failure, and Denmark not only failed to recover the lost land but also suffered significant economic burdens as a result.

This coin comes from the AD 2023 auction of the L.E.Bruun Collection, hosted by Stack’s Bowers. One of the reasons this auction attracted significant attention is that Bruun’s will stipulate that his collection could only be auctioned one hundred years after his death.

Lars Emil Bruun was born on March 29, AD 1852, in a small town in Denmark, where his father ran a local inn. In AD 1864, during the outbreak of the Second Schleswig War, Bruun was only 12 years old and not yet of military age. However, he formed friendships with Danish soldiers who were lodging at his family’s inn. Following Denmark’s defeat in the war, Bruun became a staunch patriot. Despite his linguistic abilities, he steadfastly refused to learn German as a symbol of his loyalty and national pride.

In AD 1866, Bruun’s father sent him, at the age of 14, to the town of Holbæk to serve as an apprentice. During these challenging apprentice years, Bruun developed a passion for coin collecting. After turning 20, Bruun decided to attend business school to make up for his lack of formal education. He then shifted his focus to work with the butter distributor P.E. Esbensen. However, in AD 1877, Bruun was forced to end his employment with Esbensen and return home to assist his father with resolving his financial troubles due to bankruptcy. Despite these hardships, Bruun continued to study the technical aspects of butter production. In AD 1880, Bruun, along with a business partner, launched his own butter business. Though the early years were marked by some setbacks, by 1895, the company had achieved stable profits and growth, earning Bruun the title of “The Butter King” in Denmark.

After achieving wealth, Bruun immediately began expanding his coin collection, which encompassed coins from Scandinavia and Britain, many of which came from complete collections of other collectors. His collection eventually grew to an astonishing total of 20,000 coins. In AD 1885, Bruun became involved in the founding of the Danish Numismatic Society, where he became one of its founding members.

In AD 1892, at the age of 40, Bruun married his first wife, a woman from Copenhagen’s high society. However, the disparity in their backgrounds led to a cold and distant marriage, which ultimately ended in divorce in AD 1906. Bruun was granted custody of their three daughters. In AD 1908, Bruun remarried, this time to a woman of similar background to his own. He regarded this second marriage as much more fulfilling than the first, and his second wife bore him two sons and one daughter.

In AD 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, Denmark remained neutral and was not drawn into the conflict. However, Bruun’s eldest son volunteered to fight in the Estonian resistance against the Bolshevik invasion in AD 1919, and he was killed in action. This loss was a heavy blow to Bruun. On November 21, AD 1923, at the age of 72, Bruun passed away at home. In his will, he stipulated that his collection could only be auctioned one hundred years after his death. However, he also made provisions that in the event of war or natural disasters that might cause the loss of the nation’s coin collection, his personal collection could be made available to the government, demonstrating Bruun’s unwavering patriotism throughout his life.

物件編號: A1485

年代: 公元 1692 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 19.0 x 19.0 mm

重量: 3.46 g

製造地: 哥本哈根鑄幣廠

來源:

1. SBP錢幣拍賣 2024

2. 拉爾斯·埃米爾·布倫舊藏

3. 約翰·G·吉達爾舊藏 1918

這是一枚公元1692年，時任丹麥和挪威聯合王國的統治者克里斯蒂安五世，發行之面額1達克特的金幣。這一枚金幣過去曾是丹麥錢幣收藏家暨奶油大王的拉爾斯·埃米爾·布倫個人收藏。布倫的收藏不僅是丹麥的國家瑰寶，還是該國的一座非正式文化儲備庫。

錢幣正面是面朝左邊，身穿戎裝和駕馭著駿馬的克里斯蒂安五世騎馬肖像。錢幣背面的複雜幾何圖騰是專屬於克里斯蒂安五世的花押，花押之間藏有「CW」字樣和鑄造年份「1692」。花押外圍的同心圓以三頂王冠作為裝飾，並且打印拉丁銘文「PIETATE ET IVS TITIA」意思是「虔誠和正義」。

公元1670年，克里斯蒂安五世登基為國王，其任內重用彼得爾·格里芬菲爾德伯爵為首相，使得丹麥的經濟和外交有不錯的成就。法國國王路易十四更誇讚彼得爾·格里芬菲爾德是當代最有外交才幹的政治家。然而公元1675年，克里斯蒂安五世為了收復《羅斯基勒條約》割讓給瑞典的失地發動斯堪尼戰爭，最終卻未能奪回失土，反而使丹麥的經濟遭受沉重的負擔。

這枚錢幣是來自公元2023年，由SBP錢幣拍賣公司主持的拉爾斯·埃米爾·布倫舊藏拍賣。這一批拍賣受到矚目的原因之一，在於布倫於遺囑規定要到他過世滿一百年後，方能拍賣其生前的收藏。

公元1852年3月29日，布倫出生於丹麥的一個小鎮，其父親在鎮內經營一家小酒館。公元1864年，普丹戰爭爆發之際，年僅12歲的布倫雖未達參軍的年齡，卻跟借宿於其家族酒館的丹麥士兵們結下友誼。因此丹麥戰敗的消息傳來後，布倫成為一名忠貞的愛國份子，並且身兼多種語言能力的他拒絕學習德語。

公元1866年，布倫的父親指派14歲的他離開家鄉前往霍爾拜克成為學徒。布倫在艱苦的學徒歲月中，開啟自身對於錢幣收藏的喜好。待20歲之後，布倫決定先到商業學校補足學識上的缺乏，並且轉而投靠奶油經銷商P.E.埃斯本森。然而公元1877年，布倫被迫結束在埃斯本森的工作，需要返家幫忙父親解決破產的問題，但是身處困境的布倫仍不忘學習製作奶油的相關技術。因此在公元1880年，布倫和合夥人開展自己的奶油生意，雖然前期受到一些波折。但是到公元1895年，公司已經獲得穩定的收益和成長，使他成為丹麥家喻戶曉的奶油大王。

布倫在富裕之後，立即著手擴張自己的錢幣收藏，其收藏涵括斯堪地那維亞和英國的錢幣，許多甚至來自其他藏家完整的舊藏，其藏品數量最終達到驚人的兩萬枚之譜。公元1885年，布倫更參與丹麥錢幣學會的創立，成為創始會員之一。

公元1892年，時年40歲的布倫迎娶來自哥本哈根上流社會的第一任妻子。然而兩人出身的不同使得婚姻極為冷漠，最終於公元1906年離婚，布倫獲得三個女兒的扶養權。公元1908年，布倫再度結婚，此次的對象是跟他有相似出身的女士。布倫評價這次的婚姻較第一次美滿，且第二任妻子也幫他生下兩個兒子和一個女兒。

公元1914年，第一次世界大戰爆發，雖然丹麥作為中立國沒有捲入戰火之中。但是布倫的長子卻自願參與公元1919年，愛沙尼亞抵抗布爾什維克的入侵而陣亡，對於他來說是沉重的打擊。公元1923年11月21日，布倫以72歲高齡逝世於家中，遺囑交代其收藏要到過世滿百年方能拍賣，不過若後續丹麥政府面臨到戰爭或天災等意外，致使國家收藏的錢幣遺失，得以從他個人收藏中提供給政府，彰顯布倫自始自終的強烈愛國心。