Admiral Lord Nelson is one of the giants of British history.

Literally towering in effigy over London’s greatest public space.

And still lodged in the public imagination 220 years after his death.

My school had a house named after him.

The phrase "turning a blind eye" is said to be derived from his actions at the Battle of Copenhagen; "England expects that every man will do his duty" is still paraphrased in headlines and jokes.  

And, as you’d expect, he’s also incredibly collectible.

Building Nelson's Column in 1843, already his legend was an important prop of British imperial glory. 

Who was Admiral Lord Nelson?

I’m not a military historian, so I can’t rate Nelson’s “greatness” as an admiral, but he is by some distance the most famous naval figure in British history.

Who might rank with him?

Perhaps Sir Francis Drake.

Maybe a pirate like Captain Morgan would have similar name recognition.

But it’s doubtful.

Horatio Nelson wasn’t born into the aristocracy, though he was no pauper either, and forged an extraordinary career.

He was born in Norfolk in 1758.

Family influence got him a good start in the navy and he had his own command by 1778.

His famous eye injury came in fighting off Corsica during fighting in the French Revolutionary Wars.

He lost his arm in 1797 in fighting off Tenerife.

The story that he insisted on having his stricken limb quickly amputated so he could return to the battle is typical of his legend.

Blockading France by sea was a key part of the war against Revolutionary (and then Napoleonic) Wars and Nelson was a big figure.

His career came to a tragic, victorious climax at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, which genuinely did ensure that Britain ruled the waves. Nelson's victory over a joint Spanish and French fleet helped to make the 19th Century the British Century of imperial domination.

JMW Turner's recording of the Battle of Trafalgar. Naval warfare was a vicious and bloody spectacle. 

Nelson died in the battle and received an enormous state funeral with a four-hour service at its centre. The crowd may have been the largest ever to assemble in London at the time.

Aside from his military exploits Nelson was a public figure. His affair with Emma Hamilton (who was excluded from his funeral) was a well-known subject of gossip.

His legacy is enormous.

The naval triumphs and their effect on British power are undeniable.

Today, some of what he did would be called war crimes (and his conduct was controversial at times during his own life). His legacy has been reassessed, particulary in places that were victims of slavery and colonialism. A Nelson monument in Dublin was blown up in 1966 and the event inspired a chart-topping pop tune.

But Nelson is a national hero. He was voted the Ninth greatest Briton of all time in the BBC poll of 2002.

His story is of victory in Victory (his famous ship, still afloat as a tourist attraction at Portsmouth).

The titles he was awarded in his lifetime take a paragraph to list and there’s a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to listing places named in his honour.

Collecting Admiral Lord Nelson

Like most great historical figures of this age and stature a Nelson collector will never run out of options to add interest and value to their collection.

There are first-order, original artefacts from his life. These are few and far between, and many are in museum collections. That doesn't mean there is no supply, but it does mean there will be a lot of competition for what there is. You can even buy his hair. 

You can buy strands of hair from Lord Nelson. 

Documents, letters, maps…, they’re all highly collectible and very valuable. More so if signed or of historical interest. Interesting letters should make 10s of thousands of pounds at auction.

Then, there is the second-order Nelson, the public man. Even during his lifetime a huge number of souvenirs, medals, ceramics, broadsides, ballads and the like were produced. These are of highly variable quality, ranging from mourning rings for close companions that make 10s of thousands of pounds, to mass-produced, poor-quality jingoistic pottery goods. 

Whatever your budget you can start to build a collection that celebrates Nelson’s life right now.

Nelson's greatest triumph cost him his life, the Battle of Trafalgar holds a special place for Nelson collectors. 

The 5 most valuable Admiral Lord Nelson collectibles

Nelson’s Order of the Bath unknown price

Nelson's Order of the Bath is the most visible of his military awards. 

Look at a lot of Nelson portraits and your eye will be drawn to a particular decoration on his chest.

That’s the “Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Knight Companion’s Breast Star”.

It was awarded to Nelson around 1797 after the Battle of Cape St Vincent. Nelson’s brother gave it to Horatio’s friend Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats in 1814, “in testimony of your esteem for, & the mutual
friendship which subsisted between yourself & my lamented & beloved Brother.”

It was listed for auction sale with an estimate of £300,000 to £500,000 in October 2010 and was sold after the auction privately for an undisclosed sum.

Lady Hamilton Portrait - £369,000

Emma Hamilton would have been a pin-up in the 1950s and an Instagram star today. 

There are quite a lot of portraits of late-18th century actors, and most of them don’t make anything like this money. The artist Gavin Hamilton (no relation) is a distinguished name in the art of his period, but it’s this portrait that is by far the most valuable of his works.

At auction, this picture of Nelson’s mistress went whistling up to double its estimate. She’s thought to be in costume as a Sibyl (an ancient Greek prophet), and her husband, Sir William Hamilton owned it, though he sold it in 1801, we can only imagine why.

Nelson’s HMS Victory Trafalgar flag - £297,000

Showing its age, and the marks of the Battle of Trafalgar, this Union Flag has literally been in the wars. 

As befits a banner flown during a ferocious fight, this was really a fragment of Nelson’s union flag.

An £80,000 to £100,000 estimate proved way too conservative for bidders who reportedly battled to push the value towards £300,000.

The flag was sold at Sotheby’s in January 2018.

A flag flown in the battle but not by Nelson was sold for just short of £400,000 in 2008.

Nelson’s friend’s medal £120,000

Another Norfolk son of a C of E cleric, Sir William Hoste was one of Nelson's closest friends. 

As Nelson’s own possessions are very largely accounted for, even the aura of the great man is enough to add value to naval items.

In 2021, a medal with an estimate of £60,000 to £80,000 realised £120,000 at auction. Its recipient was Captain Sir William Hoste.

Hoste is a somewhat important naval figure in his own right, but is best known as a “protege and friend of Nelson”.

“Grog set” - £69,000

The man who gave "grog" to the world, Edward Vernon.

In the same auction, a small wooden chest filled with glass vessels and flasks realised just short of £69,000.

Grog was the lifeblood of the British navy. It came in after Vice Admiral Edward Vernon (nicknamed Old Grog after the type of gloth used in his coat) decreed that navy rum rations had to be diluted with water.

Nelson’s drinking habits were probably more refined than those of ordinary sailors, and his grog set is a very desirable and good-looking antique by any standard.

Collecting Nelson memorabilia today

Can you still buy rare and valuable Nelson memorabilia today?

Yes.

Though, any major historic figure of this vintage will present a limited supply of artefacts for which there may be great competition.

This beautiful snuff box was owned by Nelson and probably given away to impress Lady Hamilton. You can buy it now. 

With Nelson's own possessions largely accounted for, items associated with him at any distance can gain value over comparable historical artefacts. For example, last year, a sword used at the Battle of Copenhagen realised £50,000 at auction, a very good price for such an item. 

However, new items may come to light, and by collecting around Nelson and perhaps further into naval history you give yourself a collecting passion with room to grow almost infinitely.

If you’d like more information like this, and you’d like to know when we next add Nelson items to our collections then you should sign up for our newsletter here. It’s completely free and you’ll never miss out again.