U.S. Government Opposes Auction of Titanic Artifacts

A newly unsealed court filing shows the U.S. government opposes a plan by RMS Titanic Inc. to auction more than 100 artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck in the North Atlantic. The filing states that the Georgia-based company wants to sell items including a bronze cherub, a necklace of gold nuggets, and a heart-shaped pendant.

RMS Titanic Inc. also proposes displaying the artifacts on a global exhibition tour in four cities whose locations have not been disclosed.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration represents U.S. interests at the wreck site. The agency argues that selling the artifacts would violate the company's legal obligations under agreements that granted it exclusive salvage rights in exchange for keeping the items in public exhibitions.

Court documents quote the government stating that the company "does not seek the Court's approval, does not believe that approval is required, and asserts that it is not restricted in its ability to sell" the artifacts. RMS Titanic Inc. has retrieved thousands of items since 1987 and generates revenue by exhibiting them.

The company has previously attempted to sell artifacts to fund further exploration and address financial difficulties, but those efforts faced opposition from courts and preservation groups.

Some salvaged items belonged to passengers.

Items recovered by survivors or rescuers can be sold privately and have fetched high prices, including a life jacket sold for more than $900,000 in April and a gold pocket watch sold for nearly $2 million in 2024. The Titanic sank in 1912 after striking an iceberg on its maiden voyage, killing more than 1,500 people.