This listing is for a display case containing two genuine pieces of the RMS Titanic which were recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic. This set also includes a COA, an information booklet, and an art box.
These pieces were recovered from the wrecksite by RMS Titanic Incorporated, the only company with salvage rights to the ship. Beginning in the late 1990's, they made dozens of expeditions to the wreck. At the time, they were legally prohibited from selling any artifacts or cargo from the ship. The company instead made money by creating museum exhibits for the artifacts they recovered.
In 2016, RMS Titanic Incorporated declared bankruptcy. They were subsequently given legal authority to sell the artifacts. However, they didn't want the artifacts to disappear into hundreds of private collections. And so they waited for a buyer to purchase the entire collection. In 2018, the company (and all of the artifacts) were sold to an investment firm which now manages the exhibitions.
Once the legal restrictions were lifted, Dik Barton decided to sell some pieces from his personal collection. Barton was the Vice President of Operations for RMS Titanic Incorporated, and he was instrumental in recovering artifacts, diving to the wreck 22 times. During his career, he oversaw the recovery of two enormous pieces of the ship: the "Big Piece" of the hull (which tore away when the ship broke apart as it sank), and a Bollard which was knocked loose when the ship hit the ocean floor. When these two pieces were brought to the surface and restored, hundreds of small eroded fragments had to be scraped off. Barton kept these fragments in his collection for 20 years, before deciding to sell them in 2020.
In order to properly archive and certify these pieces, Barton sold them through White Star Memories, who created these displays.Overall, this item is in great, unused condition. The plastic sheeting in the frame has some minor glue spills where a piece was attached. And the outer cardboard box has some damage. But it's been kept in storage since it arrived, so it's still in the exact condition in which it originally arrived. All of the accessories and documentation are intact, including the outer brown box. The winner will receive the exact items in the photos, so please refer to those for a closer look.
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