{"id":17072,"date":"2026-06-22T23:02:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T23:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17072"},"modified":"2026-06-22T23:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T23:02:07","slug":"a-plan-to-sell-artifacts-from-the-titanic-faces-us-government-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17072","title":{"rendered":"A plan to sell artifacts from the Titanic faces US government opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By PATRICK WHITTLE and JOHN SEEWER<\/strong><\/p>\n

A plan to auction more than 100 artifacts salvaged from the wreckage of the Titanic \u2014 including personal belongings, currency, kitchen items and decor \u2014 is facing pushback from the U.S. government, according to newly unsealed court documents.<\/p>\n

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RMS Titanic Inc., the company that owns exclusive salvage rights to the famous wreck in the North Atlantic, wants to sell the artifacts for the first time despite previous agreements to only display them at museums and traveling exhibitions.<\/p>\n

Georgia-based RMS Titanic proposed auctioning the artifacts and displaying them on a global tour in four cities, although those locations haven\u2019t been publicly revealed. Court documents filed in the U.S. referenced the company\u2019s plan to sell artifacts including a bronze cherub, a necklace of gold nuggets and a heart-shaped pendant.<\/p>\n

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration represents U.S. interests and oversight in the wreck site. The agency contends such a sale would violate RMS Titanic\u2019s legal obligations to the site, according to documents a judge ordered unsealed earlier this month.<\/p>\n

In arguing that the auction should be prohibited, the government wrote that the company \u201cdoes not seek the Court\u2019s approval, does not believe that approval is required, and asserts that it is not restricted in its ability to sell\u201d the artifacts.<\/p>\n

Representatives for RMS Titanic did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Its attorneys previously said in a federal court filing that the proposed auction arrangement wouldn\u2019t violate existing court orders and agreements about the artifacts.<\/p>\n

This is the latest attempt to sell Titanic artifacts<\/h4>\n

Since 1987, salvage operations have retrieved thousands of items and even chunks of the Titanic\u2019s hull. RMS Titanic makes money by exhibiting them.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Over the decades, the company has tried to sell artifacts to fund future explorations and as it faced financial trouble. But those efforts were roundly opposed by U.S. courts along with preservation groups and relatives of the victims. Some of the salvaged items belonged to passengers aboard the ship.<\/p>\n

However, items saved by survivors or plucked from the water by rescuers can be sold and often fetch big sums. A life jacket worn by a passenger went for just over $900,000 in April, while a gold pocket watch given to the ship captain who rescued the survivors was sold for nearly $2 million in 2024.<\/p>\n

Auctioneers say the unending fascination with the Titanic \u2014 which sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Europe to New York, killing more than 1,500 people \u2014 and the rarity of artifacts adds up to high demand and exorbitant prices.<\/p>\n

A trans-Atlantic dispute over the artifacts<\/h4>\n

RMS Titanic wants to auction some of the first artifacts salvaged from the wreck. Those items were taken to France, which awarded ownership of them to the salvager. French oceanographic institute IFREMER partnered with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on the discovery of the wreck.<\/p>\n

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\n<\/div>\n

The rest of the collection was retrieved during subsequent expeditions, and the salvage claim was made in a U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia.<\/p>\n

NOAA argues that all of the roughly 5,000 items \u2014 regardless of whether they were claimed in France or the U.S. \u2014 must remain in one collection based on conditions set by the U.S. court. NOAA also maintains on its website that a French court\u2019s conditions required that the artifacts not be sold individually and be kept together as a single collection.<\/p>\n

The company has argued, among other things, that the U.S. court lacks jurisdiction over the items claimed in France.<\/p>\n

Representatives for the French government did not respond to requests for comment late Monday.<\/p>\n

Pieces of history for all to see<\/h4>\n

Some undersea explorers have pushed back at the idea of selling Titanic artifacts, which they argue should be displayed in the public interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have a problem with people recovering artifacts from the Titanic as long as it\u2019s done careful, with proper archaeological techniques,\u201d said Greg Stone, a veteran ocean explorer and ocean scientist. \u201cI\u2019d feel better if it was a nonprofit enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richard Daynard, a law professor at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston who specializes in public interest advocacy, said rules on the display and sale of Titanic artifacts are intended to preserve the wreckage for the benefit of the public, and so it can\u2019t be \u201cpicked up by billionaires for further display of their wealth and power.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s something where someone can walk through their house and say \u2018Yes, I bought this for $5 million and it\u2019s original from the Titanic,\u2019 that\u2019s not a good thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Ben Finley in Washington D.C. and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed.<\/em><\/p>\n

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NOAA contends such a sale would violate RMS Titanic\u2019s legal obligations to the site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"yoast_head":"\nA plan to sell artifacts from the Titanic faces US government opposition - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17072\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A plan to sell artifacts from the Titanic faces US government opposition - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NOAA contends such a sale would violate RMS Titanic\u2019s legal obligations to the site.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17072\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T23:02:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=17072#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=17072\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"A plan to sell artifacts from the Titanic faces US government opposition\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T23:02:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=17072\"},\"wordCount\":838,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=17072#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/996a2fbe381f15287fdb5b1569310aa8.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"National News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=17072#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=17072\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=17072\",\"name\":\"A plan to sell artifacts from the Titanic faces US government opposition - 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