The interest in the Titanic never seems to die.
By Marie Coyle
@MarieCoyle (59368)
April 19, 2026 12:09am CST
I admit it, I have read several books on the Titanic, the initial impression it made on the world, and the fascination. It's not like most of us will ever be on a ship anything like it was back then. And of course, we've all seen the Titanic movie, I think.
An auction took place and a life vest worn by a first-class passenger was signed by other survivors and sold for approximately $900K in American money. A seat cushion from one of the lifeboats was also auctioned off for approximately $527K.
The highest price ever paid for any item from the Titanic was in 2024, for a gold pocket watch given to the captain of the Carpathia, the ship that showed up and rescued 705 people. It brought about $2 million.
Am I the only one that thinks that this is...well, kind of unsettling? I'm not saying that the all the stories about the people who died or survived aren't important, but...would you want something from the Titanic hanging on your living room wall? I know I would always associate it with all the lives that were lost.
https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/life-jacket-titanic-auctioned-rcna340813
19 people like this
15 responses
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Apr
@MarieCoyle I can't really think of any deceased person's relics that I would want.
3 people like this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
20 Apr
@JudyEv
Me, either. Keepsakes from a beloved loved one, yes. Not things from a disaster that took hundreds of lives.
2 people like this
@Traceyjayne (11515)
• United Kingdom
19 Apr
It is amazing that even today there is so much interest about it.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
20 Apr
I know, the interest just never seems to die. And it seemed to be revived by the Titan submersible, which of course imploded in 2023 with everyone on board basically being blown into little bitty pieces..why anyone would have wanted to go down in that is beyond me. I hope no one ever tries that again.
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
19 Apr
@jstory07
Yes, they will. I do know that I wouldn't want those items in my home, either. I just think they belong in a memorial type of setting, like a museum. And yes, many, many more could have been saved if they had the proper number of lifeboats.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (136009)
• Marion, Ohio
19 Apr
I understand those pieces being in a museum but I wouldn't want one
2 people like this
@xFiacre (14805)
• Ireland
19 Apr
@MarieCoyle @fleura Coming from Belfast where the Titanic was built, I’m fed up with it. Treating it as a money-making tourist attraction is a bit on the ghoulish side. It makes the whole thing sound like great fun, but there’s always people looking to make money off the back of other people’s suffering.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
19 Apr
Oh, thank you for this. This is how I feel as well. Making money from tragedies is just not what anyone should do, I am sure you have seen your share of it there.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (169585)
• United States
20 Apr
I am like you, Maire. It would be too sad and unsettling.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
20 Apr
I am all for honoring those who were there. I get that part. But to buy something like these items, it's a big no to me.
@snowy22315 (209173)
• United States
19 Apr
It is kind of morbid,but fascinating nonetheless. I went to a Titanic exhibit in Baltimore one time at the science center. They had a number of artifacts from it
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
20 Apr
I haven't sorted out if I would even want to go to one of the exhibits. As you say, rather morbid.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86875)
• United States
20 Apr
There’s no counting for taste. There were people picking up pieces of the plane that crashed and killed Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins! 
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
20 Apr
I remember my Grandma telling me about that. She said the scavengers were like vultures.
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@RasmaSandra (98129)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
19 Apr
Nope, no souvenirs from the Titanic for me, And you got me curious about if any Latvian people were on the Titanic and this I found online,
Yes, Latvian passengers were among those who lost their lives on the Titanic. Two known Latvian-born passengers, Goldsmith and D. Livshin, were aboard the ship during its ill-fated maiden voyage. The Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, resulting in a significant loss of life, with estimates suggesting that around 1,496 people perished in the disaster
.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (254926)
• United States
22 Apr
@MarieCoyle Nope for me as well. We collect antiques, sterling, and oil paintings. Running out of room, so had to put a stop to that. My kids won’t even want any of it.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
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23 Apr
@DianneN
Young adults nowadays want everything plain, simple, and functional--and not much for ornamentation and frills. I totally understand that.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
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21 Apr
Maybe I would feel differently if it was the life vest of a loved one, or someone I deeply cared about. But just to buy something like that to stare at...a big nope from me.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (122327)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
19 Apr
I would not any item that was in the titanic ship due to the memories of the deceased in one of the tragic accidents of all tme.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222806)
• United States
22 Apr
I would not want something from the Titanic; but some people may like to keep alive the memory of those that perished.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
23 Apr
I suppose, but if I didn't know the person or the family, I don't think I would want anything from it.
1 person likes this
@thedevilinme (5216)
• Northampton, England
19 Apr
I think they were trying to break the speed record for crossing the Atlantic and that caused the problems and eventual impact
1 person likes this
@Fleura (35124)
• United Kingdom
19 Apr
I don't really understand the fascination either. Not sure whether it is the thought of all that lost glamour? I mean there have been plenty of other shipwrecks, and there are also plenty of other items from that period available.
I've never seen the film. It came out just after my then-boyfriend and I had split up after 12 years. I wasn't in the mood for a love story.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (59368)
•
20 Apr
I remember when the wreck was found and some of it was filmed for television. Many, many people were glued to watching it. It was sad...there were still shoes in the sand. Shoes, but no bodies, they were long gone. Truly sad.
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