Press release -
A Record Shattering Evening with Transylvanian Coins
The dizzying hammer prices kept coming all evening as a historic collection of Transylvanian coins from the Rákóczi dynasty was up for auction at Bruun Rasmussen Tuesday evening. No less than six gold Ducats reached awe-inspiring hammer prices, and four of these impressed in particular with hammer prices of a whopping EUR 412,000, EUR 395,000, EUR 353,000 and EUR 345,000 (including buyer’s premium). All four coins thus broke the previous record for the most expensive coin ever sold at Bruun Rasmussen.
The saleroom was full, the phones were ringing off the hook and the bidding signs were raised again and again as Bruun Rasmussen held the final Live Coin Auction of the year in Copenhagen this past Tuesday evening. Among the highlights of the evening was a rare collection of Transylvanian coins minted for the Rákóczi dynasty – a dominant noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th and 18th centuries.
The collection had a total estimate of just over EUR 726,000 but ended up with a total hammer price of: EUR 2.4 million – 334 percent above the total estimate or EUR 3.042 million (including buyer’s premium) – 419 percent above the total estimate!
"The most expensive of the coins we sold today was a 10 Ducat from 1649. It went for more than twice as much as our previous record for an individual coin," says a happy Michael Fornitz, Chief Numismatist at Bruun Rasmussen, after the auction.
"What we succeeded in doing was to attract a number of new customers from countries with which we normally do not do much business – in this case Hungary. They took the whole trip from Budapest to Copenhagen to bring home some of their rare coins today," says Michael Fornitz.
Record-breaking Transylvanian Highlights
The record hammer price for a coin sold at Bruun Rasmussen has thus far been EUR 193,000 (including buyer’s premium), but this amount has now been beaten by not just one but four coins in total that were sold at the evening's auction. After some fierce bidding wars, a total of six coins from the Ragoczy Collection ended up with impressive hammer prices.
The biggest prize came in the shape of a 10 Ducat from 1649, which after a few tense minutes landed at an astonishing hammer price of EUR 412,000 (including buyer’s premium) against an estimate of EUR 47,000.
An extremely rare 10 Ducat from 1652 was also in high demand and ended up with a hammer price of EUR 395,000 (including buyer’s premium) against an estimate of EUR 54,000, while a 10 gold Ducat from 1639 reached a hammer price of no less than EUR 345,000 (including buyer’s premium) against an estimate of EUR 81,000. In addition, a 10 Ducat from 1639 was sold for as much as EUR 353,000 (including buyer’s premium) against an estimate of EUR 47,000.
Two gold Ducats from 1607 and 1647 each fetched a nice hammer price of EUR 193,000 (including buyer’s premium) and EUR 177,000 (including buyer’s premium), respectively. They were each valued at EUR 54,000.
In the Ownership of the Ragoczy Family
The earliest history of the offered coin collection has unfortunately been lost, but it is at least known that it has belonged to Johannes Walther Franz Lothar Valerius Ragoczy, who was a collector with a capital C. Several of the coins have until now remained in the Ragoczy family's possession, unbeknownst to both collectors and researchers.
According to Michael Fornitz, Chief Numismatist at Bruun Rasmussen, it was the first time that gold coins of this size and weight from the 1600s have been offered at an auction in Denmark.
Read more about the Ragoczy Collection HERE.
Karsten Kold's Coveted Collection
The auction also included the second part of coin collector Karsten Kold's extraordinary collection. The first part of this collection was sold at Bruun Rasmussen in April 2022, and here every single coin was sold for a total auction result of more than EUR 1.7 million (including buyer’s premium).
This evening the second half of the collection also offered sublime lots for the buyers to bid on, and the idea of a "difficult follow-up" was put to shame. On the contrary, every single coin was once again sold, and the combined hammer price for the coveted collection ended up being more than 50 percent above the total estimate.
The coin auction took place on 8 November at Bruun Rasmussen in Copenhagen.
View all the results of the auction HERE.
Read more in Bruun Rasmussen's coin catalogues HERE.
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"Going once, going twice. Sold to the lady in the front row”. For 75 years, Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers has sold art, antiques, design, jewellery, wristwatches and collector’s items in the heart of Copenhagen. It was Arne Bruun Rasmussen who founded the auction house at Bredgade 33 in 1948, and until 2022 the Bruun Rasmussen family owned the company. Today, the company is owned by the British auction house Bonhams - one of the world's leading and oldest auction houses.
Being a part of Bonhams, means that Bruun Rasmussen has joined a global network, which benefits both the art and the customers, the latter has gained access to far more auctions and the former has a better chance of achieving the market's best hammer prices. The goal is to constantly confirm to our customers that Bruun Rasmussen is a sought-after auction house with the highest expertise in valuation and sales. Bonhams and Bruun Rasmussen share the core values of knowledge, credibility, commitment and renewal, and the old Copenhagen auction house will thus continue to base its business on its well-known values under the auspices of Bonhams.
With CEO Jakob Dupont at the helm, an extensive digitization process has taken place during the past years, making the auction house a significant player on the international market. With solid experience and in-depth knowledge complemented by highly professional advice and appraisal service, the company is the link between sellers and interested buyers from all over the world. Every year, 70,000 unique works of art are sold at three types of auctions – the traditional Live Auctions and the two web-based auctions Online Auction and Direct Auction.
