Titanic Artifacts to be Auctioned as Single Lot

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Guernsey's auction house will be offering salvage rights along with 5,500 recovered artifacts from the Titanic.  The unique aspect of the auction is, based upon a court ruling, all artifacts and future salvage rights will be auctioned as one lot.  The asking price is $190 million.  Past prices for Titanic salvage have ranged from $200 to $100,000.

The auction closes on April 11th.  I will  post the results when released.

The WSJ reports

Within the field of marine memorabilia, Titanic-related objects have long topped collectors' wish lists, with pieces selling for anywhere from $200 for a ship postcard to $100,000 for an original menu. A few works were carried off the ship by survivors or collected by rescue ships. Since the artifacts in the Guernsey's sale were recovered by divers working for the site's official overseer, they've never been traded in the marketplace before.

Mr. Joslyn said he knows a dozen collectors who can spend "serious money" on Titanic memorabilia, but he doesn't think any of them can spend close to Guernsey's $190 million asking price for the entire group. He said the auction house is likely seeking bidders among the world's billionaires in the hope that someone will buy the Titanic and give it to an institution like the Smithsonian. "It's not like buying a Monet to hang on your walls," he added. "You're going to need a major warehouse and staff to care for it all."

Potential bidders have until Friday to place their bids, and Guernsey's will announce a winner around April 11.

Source: The Wall Street Journal