The Nautical Ounce bullion coin series hits the decade mark with the four-masted barque, Kruzenshtern

A favourite of the bullion coin calendar since its debut in 2017, Numistrade’s Nautical Ounce range showcases some of the most famous sailing vessels of the last millennium. They’re issued for Rwanda, ironically a land-locked country. It started with the Santa Maria, and last year saw the British legend and hero of Trafalgar, HMS Victory. For 2026, the subject is the Kruzenshtern, a perfect choice as this beautiful vessel is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Launched in 1926 as the Padua, she was the last of 66 cargo ships built and operated by the German shipping company, F. Laeisz of Hamburg. The ships all had names beginning with a ‘P’, and became known as the ‘Flying P-liners’, for their speed. She was a four-masted barque, and spent her first two decades plying her trade around the world, especially from Germany to Chile and Australia. In 1946, she was surrendered to the Soviet Union in reparation, and renamed Kruzenshtern. In the 1960s, she worked with the Academy of Sciences of the USSR doing hydrographic and oceanographic surveys, before becoming a training vessel in 1965. She is now a regular on the international regatta circuit. In 1995, she embarked on a circumnavigation of the globe, just as her namesake, Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern, did in 1803. She is the only P-liner still in use today, although three others survive as museum ships, one in Finland, and two in Germany. A genuinely beautiful vessel.

The design will be instantly familiar to collectors of the series, with the same rope-bordered instruments at the top, and border inscriptions to the left and right. It’s the portrayal of the ship itself that’s the star attraction, and Numistrade have done the business with a fine depiction. The series has really improved since the early issues. The range is unchanged from 2025, with 1oz silver and gold bullion variants, and the unusual, but looking increasingly prescient, 1/12th ounce coins (2.6 grams). I thought a silver coin of that weight was pointless last year, but now, not so much! A proof 1oz silver coin is offered, but the gorgeous antique-finished variants seem to have sunk without trace. Available to pre-order now.