Now on its ninth issue since launching in 2017, Numistrade’s Nautical Ounce takes the style of their Rwandan African Ounce wildlife range, which was already a decade old at the time, and gives it a maritime history spin. The result is an annual homage to the age of sail, concentrating on the last five centuries or so, at least to date. Classic vessels like Santa Maria, Cutty Sark, Mayflower, and Constitution, have appeared in the range so far, and for 2025, one of the Royal Navy’s greatest legends, Admiral Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, joins it.

The design ethos is maintained here, with a compass rose sitting over a network of navigation lines filling the background, and a rope-bordered area at top, holding navigational aids, including a sextant, and a telescope. The main attraction remains the vessel, however, and there’s a fine depiction of HMS Victory from the stern, with some gun ports open, and some closed. She isn’t under full sail, looking almost becalmed.

HMS Victory had a storied career, fighting in multiple battles from the 1778 Battle of Ushant, to Baltic service in 1812. She will be most remembered for her role as Admiral Horatio Nelson’s flagship at the pivotal Battle of Trafalgar, where, outnumbered, he decimated a combined French/Spanish fleet so comprehensively, that it never seriously challenged the Royal Navy again. This first-rate ship of the line is now a museum ship in Portsmouth, but remains the flagship of the First Sea Lord.

The range has the obligatory one-ounce silver, and one-ounce gold bullion variants, as well as a proof version of the silver coin for those that want a more defined strike. Joining them are unusual 1/12th ounce variants (about 2.6 grams), which is great for gold, but less logical for silver. The superb antique-finished high-relief variants have yet to put in an appearance, but we’re certainly hoping they do.

While not a match for the Perth Mint lunars thirty-one releases, Numistrade’s Lunar Ounce range hitting ten is reason enough to celebrate. Stylistically, this has always been one of the more unusual lunar bullion ranges, sporting an almost stained-glass window look. It certainly stands out in a market where realism, or traditional Asian, tends to be the go-to look. Here we have a rearing horse, all broken down into small sections defined by what passes for the lead in those windows. The lunar character sits at the top, and most inscriptions are in the border, where they don’t spoil the design.

The range remains the same as that of the Nautical Ounce, with four bullion, and one proof variant across the two metals. The mintages of the gold bullion variants are different, making full use of the ‘lucky’ number 8 superstition so prevalent in Asia. Overall, an on-point issue in a series you either find appealing, or don’t, but you must admire the uniqueness of it.