Iconic Titanic Violin Sells For A Record $1.45 Million USD

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One of the most poignant memory recalled by some of the 900 survivors from 885-feet long luxury liner Titanic that sank on April 15th 1912, was that of the orchestra playing the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee", to try calm the panicked passengers as they made their way to the lifeboats.

Though none of the seven-member band survived, what surprisingly did, was a violin that was being played by their leader, Wallace Hartley. Found strapped to his chest inside a leather luggage case that bore his initials initials W.H.H, it was even Inscribed with a message from his fiancé to mark their engagement.

As seems to be the case for many of these ancient treasures, the violin disappeared for many decades. Then in 2006, it was discovered in an attic in a house in Northwest England. After many years, its authenticity was finally proved and the iconic instrument was put up for bidding in Southwest England on Saturday, October 19th, 2013, by Titanic specialist auctioneers, Henry Aldridge and Son.

While the bidding purportedly started at a mere $80 USD, the auctioneers had in reality set a reserve or minimum price of between $323,000-$484,000 for the precious artifact. But even that proved to be too low as buyers frantically bid up the iconic piece to over $500,000 USD within just a few minutes.

At that price most bidders dropped out and the 200 people that were present at the auction waited with abated breath to see which of the two remaining telephone bidders would get the coveted instrument. Ten minutes after it all began, the verdict was in - The fateful bandmaster's violin had been sold for an astounding $1.45million USD, way surpassing the previous highest price of $350,000 USD paid for a piece of memorabilia from the Titanic.

Dubbed 'The ship of dreams', the Titanic was a luxury cruise liner like no other. Considered an engineering marvel in 1912, it was not only the largest ship to ever grace the seas, but also, featured unrivaled grandeur and amenities. Not surprisingly, its inaugural and only passenger list, included some of the world's most powerful and wealthiest people. It is therefore not surprising that the sinking of the 50,000-ton behemoth after hitting an iceberg within days of its launch, continues to capture the interest and imagination of people all over the world, till today.

Resources: aljazeera.com, news.yahoo.com

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356 Comments
  • missdragonora
    missdragonoraalmost 10 years
    It's awesome how they actually found it!
    • missdragonora
      missdragonoraalmost 10 years
      This is very interesting, because they found a violin that is from the owner that was on "Titanic"
      • floydboy278almost 10 years
        I play violin it is. From the titanic no wood looks that old that is nuts it 110 years old
        • swimmer_girl02
          swimmer_girl02almost 10 years
          hmmmmmm My violin cost $5,000. that pales in comparison
          • nikukyu
            nikukyualmost 10 years
            Woah I want to play the violin.
            • violinist_2002
              violinist_2002almost 10 years
              Wow. My violin is $5000 dollars alone, (romanian wood and british stick! Not to mention whale bone and pearl!) I wonder if its still playable, I'd play the bartok romanian dances on it! Maybe my NYSSMA lvl 6 on it and see how much it can take!
              • jamroalmost 10 years
                i do think that the violin should be that much money or maybe more because, it was from the Titanic and it is an old artifact that should be placed in a museum
                • Graceabout 10 years
                  I play violin I'm in Suzuki book 4
                  • gymnastluv2253
                    gymnastluv2253about 10 years
                    I love playing the violin, and that violin is super expensive.
                    • scarlinayavaca
                      scarlinayavacaover 10 years
                      So much money