Its another one of those stories about that damn boat.A key for $180,000.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/7008300.stm

Isn't it incredible the money people spend on (unnecessary) things? I'm in the auction business, and it never ceases to amaze me the number of people who have that kind of disposable income.

Why won't they adopt me!?!? :lolhit:

Well, it may be unnecessary, Fran, but it does have historical value, and not only that, it's an investment.
BUT, the "value" of THIS particular item I do question--the dang thing was not even on the ship. This is stretching it a bit, IMO. From the article:


"The key, with the tag "Crows Nest Telephone Titanic" opened the binoculars store, but was not on the ship when it sailed from Southampton.

It was in the pocket of an officer transferred off the vessel days before its maiden voyage. He forgot to hand it to his replacement as he left. "

This is like some dolt paying thousands for the pair of socks Lincoln wore three days before he delivered the Gettysburg Address.

PS I have a piece of Titanic coal. It's the size of a gumdrop. It is one of my prized possessions!!! It cost a FORTUNE. I don't want to sell it, I just wanted it to look at and think, "Wow--it was ON the Titanic......!!!!!

Going after the actual ship next.........

Oh Ren,I bet theres a miner in Pennsylvania having a good laugh hehe

OOOPS!!

That's ok, I sold a pair of dentures, that I told people belonged to Captain Smith, for 25 million dollars. Too bad the buyer never bothered to read up on the Captain and how he went down with the ship and neither his bod OR his false teeth were ever found.

Maybe someone took them home by mistake also.

As for the key,I think their trying to say that if the key had been on the ship,they wouldnt have hit the berg,and Titanic would never have been remembered.

Well, it may be unnecessary, Fran, but it does have historical value, and not only that, it's an investment.

Oh, I quite agree. I'd love to own that key. Pretty much every auction item I work on is something I'd love to own myself, just because of its historical interest/value. Monetary value is fleeting; the bottom line in the auction biz is that an item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, and that changes by the minute. That said, the interest in and desire for Lincoln items never wanes.

This is like some dolt paying thousands for the pair of socks Lincoln wore three days before he delivered the Gettysburg Address.

ANY pair of Lincoln's socks (if such still exist) would surely go for thousands. (Although it is said that he changed his blue yarn socks only once every ten days. Ick.)

You've got that right.....imagine finding an original copy of the Gettysburg Address. As far as I know, there's only 5 known copies, and, not long ago, a family somewhere found one hidden in a trunk. I can't recall how that turned out or even if it was genuine.

Wonder how much a genuine copy is worth--that is, if it ever would come up for auction???

My grandpa was a big collector of Civil War items--namely maps, flags, diaries, and guns. He once pawned his own furniture to buy a gun that belonged to Winfield Scott Hancock. Grandma left Grandpa over his nonstop collecting and that fact that she no longer had a chair to sit on or a bed to sleep in, but they DID have a nice (old) gun. Grandpa never stopped his collecting tho.

The last auction of a known Address sold for $54,000 in 1949 (at the time, the highest price ever paid for a document at public auction). Today, I've no doubt one would go for several million.

Does your family still have the stuff your grampa collected? It's worth lots these days... check out the last Civil War sale at Heritage (http://americana.ha.com/common/info/press/default.php?ReleaseID=1377).

The last auction of a known Address sold for $54,000 in 1949 (at the time, the highest price ever paid for a document at public auction). Today, I've no doubt one would go for several million.

Does your family still have the stuff your grampa collected? It's worth lots these days... check out the last Civil War sale at Heritage (http://americana.ha.com/common/info/press/default.php?ReleaseID=1377).

Thanks, that's fascinating. We should all be careful not to THROW OUT old stuff and to look carefully through that old box in the garage or attic.

My mom's sis has most of the gun collection. A few were auctioned years ago to help raise money for Grandpa's Civil War Round Table clubs. What happened to the battle flags is anyone's guess.

I have a diary that belonged to my gg grandpa who served in the War out of Ohio, also a few hand-drawn maps. Mom might have more stuff squirrelled away, tho that's doubtful. When Grandma died and her basement was cleaned out, several boxes of Grandpa's collection were thrown out, appalling as it is for me to write it. Yes, mom got rid of the stuff because it was "old."

Good job, mom!!

When Grandma died and her basement was cleaned out, several boxes of Grandpa's collection were thrown out, appalling as it is for me to write it. Yes, mom got rid of the stuff because it was "old."

ARRGGHH!!!

* keels over *

The last auction of a known Address sold for $54,000 in 1949 (at the time, the highest price ever paid for a document at public auction). Today, I've no doubt one would go for several million.

Does your family still have the stuff your grampa collected? It's worth lots these days... check out the last Civil War sale at Heritage (http://americana.ha.com/common/info/press/default.php?ReleaseID=1377).

Years ago I bought a large picture in an old carved frame. * I bought it for the frame* and after taking it apart, in the middle were what looked like old copies of the Declaration of Independance and the Bill of Rights.
I had asked a guy I knew who knew a little about older documents and he said they weren't original, the ink was too dark on it but the paper was real fragile and brittle. I often wondered how one goes about getting old documents authenticated..

I wish they were, boy howdy! :D

Years ago I bought a large picture in an old carved frame. * I bought it for the frame* and after taking it apart, in the middle were what looked like old copies of the Declaration of Independance and the Bill of Rights.
I had asked a guy I knew who knew a little about older documents and he said they weren't original, the ink was too dark on it but the paper was real fragile and brittle. I often wondered how one goes about getting old documents authenticated..

Just take them to any large auction company. Someone there can tell you what you have.

Ok, thanks Frannie.