In One Ear: Sunken treasure

Published 9:05 pm Thursday, April 17, 2025

When the RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, it took some valuable, and unusual items down with it, according to a story on MSN.

Possibly the only car aboard was William Carter’s brand new Renault CB coupe. The car was in the front of the ship, so it may well still be intact. If it were ever recovered, it’s probably worth millions.

Also at the bottom of the ocean are four cases of opium that belonged to John Jacob Astor IV, great-grandson of Astoria’s founder. Which is pretty interesting, since the U.S. Congress banned opium smoking in 1909.

Also gone in the wreckage are a handwritten copy of a Joseph Conrad manuscript, five Steinway grand pianos, several works of art and many pieces of jewelry belonging to first class passengers. 

While there’s still a lot of china visible on the ocean floor, pieces of recovered china, along with some ship fittings and a piece of the hull — about 5,500 items all together —  went up for auction in 2012. The collection’s estimated value was $189 million to $200 million. (Illustration: Willie Stöwer)