For every auction house, the auction of a complete collection whose story is linked to the life of a prominent collector is a capstone event. Such an auction is a symbolic culmination of a collector's life story, which often lasts for almost their entire lifetime. And every such story becomes immortal in the form of an auction catalogue. To this day, one's heart skips a beat at the opening of one of the auction catalogues of old collections. Let us mention, for example, the collection of Mr. Štěpán Berger. It was auctioned by Otto Helbing in Munich in 1901. Every item was a true gem. It remains a dream of every collector of Bohemian coins and medals to acquire at least a handful of the pieces originally owned by Berger. Not many manage to do so. And the catalogue of his collection is an ornament of every numismatic bookcase.
We are honoured to have the opportunity to hold an auction of the numismatic collection of the prominent collector Dr. Václav Bruna on 26 April 2024 at the Mandarin Oriental Prague. The collection was created with great insight and life perspective of a man who lived and still lives a colorful life. As a military doctor, he came to Slovakia after finishing his studies and met his present wife. He was convicted by the communist regime for anti-state activities and served a prison sentence of several years. Later, he emigrated to Austria via Yugoslavia, where he established a dental practice after a few years. After the revolution, he began, among other things, to look after his family's estate in Zámrsk in eastern Czechia, a region closely linked to horse breeding. The most famous of these horses, called Peruán, won the Grand Pardubice Steeplechase several times. In the 1990s, Václav Bruna opened a successful dental clinic.
His numismatic collection was built up over half a century and in recent decades it has been systematically compiled as a testimony to the minting and circulation of coins on the territory of the present Czech Republic from ancient times to the period of the first Czechoslovak Republic. The focus of the collection is on coins of the Bohemian and Moravian Celts, coins of the medieval Kingdom of Bohemia, and Habsburg coins from Bohemian and Moravian mints, especially from the 16th to the 18th century. There are also coins of the most influential members of the Bohemian nobility – the Pernštejn, the Rožmberk, the Schlick, Charles Egon of Fürstenberg, and others. Dozens of often unique coins purchased all over the world come from old collections, including that of Berger.
Auction #33 Highlights
The collection of MUDr. Václav Bruna - April 26, 2024, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Prague
ANCIENT AGES – CELTS IN BOHEMIA
ANCIENT AGES – CELTS IN SLOVAKIA
THE MIDDLE AGES - BOHEMIA, PART 1
THE MIDDLE AGES - BOHEMIA, PART 2
HOUSE OF HABSBURG, PART 2 - RUDOLPH II.
