Meet The Specialist

What do you do at Bruun Rasmussen?

I have been part of Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers since 2001, where I am Chief Numismatist and Manager of the coins, medals and paper money department. In my work, I appraise and catalogue precious numismatic objects for our live auctions, while personally helping the biggest Danish and international collectors when they want to sell at auction or are looking for new treasures for their own collections. I am also the auctioneer at our coin auctions.

Where are you from? And what inspired you to go into the auction world?

I am a Copenhagener with a capital C. I grew up here and still live in the inner city today. In my childhood home, art, culture and history took centre stage. Even as a teenager, I began to take an interest in the history of coins. I quickly became a regular guest at Bruun Rasmussen's auctions, and in my adult life as a collector, I often visit auctions all over the world. The dynamic and international aspect of the auction world has always appealed to me, which was the decisive reason why I have chosen it as the base for my professional activity, rather than a more static life as a scholarly researcher.

What was your first job?

To avoid accruing student debt during my studies in archaeology, numismatics and art history at the University of Copenhagen, I got a job as a cataloguer at the now-closed Danish coin auction house Hornungs, where I had previously worked as an apprentice during my high school years. That was my ticket to the world of auctions, where I have remained ever since.

 Name one of your triumphs.

Seen from a larger perspective, my greatest professional triumph is that over the years I have catalogued the majority of the very best single-owner coin collections that have been sold in Denmark since 1990. I am also the person in Denmark who has catalogued and auctioned off the most numismatic objects. What appeals to me most about coins is that they can end up representing more than simply a means of payment and instead, by virtue of their historical or art historical value, become an important message to us from the past.

Coins from the Viking Age have always interested me and have been my primary field of research, and one of my greatest single triumphs was selling a penny from the prominent coin collection of the Danish Poulsen family that stretches across several generations. The penny was not only valuable commercially, but also in terms of its art historical significance since its two depicted faces pre-empt modern art's forms of expression. With this coin, we managed to engage people outside the usual small, closed circle of dedicated collectors.

What is your strength as a specialist?

My strength as a coin specialist is the combination of my academic background and a lifetime of experience both as an employee in the auction business and as a private collector. This means that I am able to look at a numismatic object from different perspectives whilst assessing its historical and art historical value.

Are you a collector? What was your first collector's item?

Once a collector, always a collector! I bought my first coin when I was 11 – a small coin from the 15th century. Whilst I have had a long career as a private coin collector, I've not actually acquired any more coins for 20 years now. Today, instead, I collect a number of other objects such as Renaissance book art.

Do you have a hidden talent?

I compete in sabre fencing at an elite, international level. It is a sport that I have been participating in for 40 years. This, too, can be linked to my general interest in culture and history; the story of The Three Musketeers clearly played a role when I started fencing as a boy.

What's exciting about your next sale?

After more than 40 years of work as a professional numismatist, it takes something very special to catch your attention. At the upcoming live auction in Copenhagen on 8 November, however, we are selling something that would make even the most seasoned coin collector stop and take a closer look. We take a trip to the land of Dracula with a collection of 52 large, beautiful and exceptionally well-preserved coins, most of which are of the purest gold. They were minted for the Rákóczi dynasty in Transylvania and mainly come from the 17th century. The house of Rákóczy was a dominant noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th and 18th centuries. The unique collection ended up in Denmark because one of the family's descendants, Valerius Ragoczy, immigrated here around the turn of the century. Since 1959, the collection has been kept in the family's possession.

Bruun Rasmussen is part of The Bonhams Network. Learn more about upcoming auctions and contact a specialist at Bruun-Rasmussen.dk