Company Seeks Court Approval to Auction Titanic Artifacts

RMS Titanic Inc. filed a plan in U.S. District Court to auction more than 100 artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck, including personal items, currency, kitchenware, and decorative pieces. The company holds exclusive salvage rights and previously agreed to keep the items in museum or exhibition settings.

Court records show the proposed sale would also include a traveling display in four undisclosed cities.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, representing U.S. interests at the site, argues the auction would breach existing court orders. Documents unsealed earlier this month state the company maintains it does not need court approval to sell the artifacts.

NOAA contends that all roughly 5,000 recovered items must remain together as one collection, regardless of whether they were claimed in France or the United States.

Since 1987, salvage operations have recovered thousands of objects. Some items retrieved by survivors or rescuers have been sold at auction, including a life jacket that fetched $906,000 in April and a gold pocket watch that sold for more than $2 million in 2025.

RMS Titanic has attempted artifact sales in past decades to finance expeditions, but those efforts faced opposition from courts and preservation groups.

Artifacts first recovered in France were awarded to the salvager by a French court. The company argues the U.S. court lacks jurisdiction over those items. The French government has not commented on the current filing.