U.S. Government Opposes Planned Auction of Titanic Artifacts

RMS Titanic Inc. has proposed auctioning more than 100 artifacts recovered from the Titanic wreck, including personal items, currency, kitchenware and decorative pieces, according to newly unsealed court documents. The company holds exclusive salvage rights to the North Atlantic site and has previously agreed to display recovered objects only in museums and traveling exhibitions.

Court filings reference specific items the firm intends to sell, such as a bronze cherub, a necklace of gold nuggets and a heart-shaped pendant.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees U.S. interests at the wreck site, contends that any sale would breach RMS Titanic's legal obligations. In its filing, the agency stated 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.

A federal judge ordered the documents unsealed earlier this month. Representatives for RMS Titanic did not respond to requests for comment.

Since 1987, salvage operations have recovered thousands of objects and sections of the hull. The company has earned revenue by exhibiting these items and has previously attempted sales during periods of financial difficulty. Items recovered by survivors or rescuers before the wreck reached the seabed have been sold at auction in recent years.

A life jacket from a lifeboat sold for $906,000 in April, and a seat cushion from the same boat sold for $527,000 at the same sale.

Some artifacts were recovered during the initial 1985-1987 expeditions conducted with a French partner and were awarded to the salvager by a French court. NOAA maintains that all roughly 5,000 items, regardless of recovery location, must remain in a single collection under U.S. court conditions.