Press release -
Outstanding Collection of Danish West Indies Coins
Bruun Rasmussen marks the 100th anniversary of the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States at the spring’s international coin auction in Copenhagen, where an outstanding private collection with almost all types of coins from the Danish West Indies is up for auction.
On 31 March 1917 the Danish flag flew for the last time over the three Caribbean islands, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix and Saint Jan (John), after which they were handed over to the United States of America under the name of the Virgin Islands.
”To commemorate the 100th anniversary of this event, we will hold a special coin auction on 9 May with an emphasis on the coins that were struck in Denmark and intended for use on the islands, as well as the Danish gold coins that in their imagery relate to the area. The quality of the individual pieces of the collection, which was established by Ulrik Lauridsen, is remarkable, and many of the coins should be considered the finest available in private ownership,”says Michael Fornitz, head numismatist at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers of Fine Art.
Christopher Columbus discovered the islands in 1492, and especially during the 1600s they experienced a stormy existence as Spaniards, the Dutch, British and French tried to exploit the islands commercially. In 1671, however, St. Thomas, which at the time was uninhabited, was taken into possession by the Danes.
Until 1740, when the first coin was struck, the unit of account was sugar pounds, and with the help of a large-scale import of slaves from Danish Guinea in West Africa, a number of cotton and sugar plantations were established. In 1792, however, Denmark outlawed its slave trade as the first European country to do so.
Auction & Preview
This spring's major coin auction is presented in two catalogues. The first contains Ulrik Lauridsen's private collection of coins related to the Danish West Indies. The second catalogue contains a number of fine coins, medals and paper money that range from antiquity with an exquisite aureus from Antoninus Pius over a Chinese Order of the Double Dragon to rare paper money from Greenland. A special section is made up of a beautiful suite of rare so-called Hiberno-Norse silver coins from the Viking era.
The preview and auction will take place at Bruun Rasmussen at Baltikavej 10 in Copenhagen on the following days:
Preview: Friday, 28 April 10 am – 3.30 pm
Monday, 8 May 10 am – 5 pm
Tuesday, 9 May 8:30 am - 5 pm
Auction: Tuesday, 9 May 10 am – 5 pm
View Ulrik Lauridsen's private collection (Coins related to the Danish West Indies)
Topics
Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers is one of Scandinavia’s leading international auction houses, and one of Denmark’s oldest. It all started on 6 October 1948, when Arne Bruun Rasmussen conducted the first traditional auction in the saleroom at Bredgade 33 in Copenhagen. Today, Jesper Bruun Rasmussen stands at the helm of the family-run business together with the third generation of the family, his son Frederik and daughter Alexa, and the company’s CEO Jakob Dupont.
In 2004, the first online auction was launched, and today the auction house has expanded to include departments in Copenhagen and Aarhus and representations in Sweden, Germany, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Spain, Italy, Thailand and the US. About 100,000 lots are put up for auction each year at the traditional auctions and daily online auctions. Here you can bid on everything from art, antiques, modern design and jewellery to books, coins, stamps, wine and weaponry.
