An effort to turn a trove of Titanic relics into auction lots has run into government opposition. Newly unsealed court filings show the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is challenging RMS Titanic Inc.'s plan to sell more than 100 items recovered from the wreck—including currency, kitchenware, a bronze cherub and gold jewelry—arguing the move would breach long-standing legal commitments to preserve the site for the public, KTVB reports. The Georgia-based company, which has exclusive salvage rights and has long made money by exhibiting thousands of recovered artifacts, maintains that court approval isn't needed and that its proposal doesn't violate earlier orders.
The agency, which represents US interests at the North Atlantic wreck, counters that selling pieces would undercut a 1990s deal that barred such sales. Opponents, including preservation advocates and a law professor, say the rules are meant to prevent Titanic objects from becoming private status symbols. "If it's something where someone can walk through their house and say 'Yes, I bought this for $5 million and it's original from the Titanic,' that's not a good thing," said Richard Daynard of Northeastern University School of Law. Items recovered by survivors and rescuers, which aren't covered by the restrictions, continue to command huge prices, helping fuel the latest push to cash in on the ship's enduring allure. The items at issue now were salvaged almost 40 years ago, per the New York Times, in the first recovery effort.
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