The sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic continues to captivate Americans, as one of the most famous tragedies in our history. And now devotees of the ship’s story and those who perished on it can bid on a large piece of that history, as more than 5,000 items are going up for sale.

In April, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ship’s sinking, the items will go up as one large, single lot, says CNNMoney. Premier Exhibitions owns the items, and the impending sale was revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The collection has an appraised value in 2007 of $189 million, says the filing. New items have been added since that time. However, if acceptable bidders don’t come forward by April 1, the sale will be canceled.

The pieces were recovered from the wreck in a series of expeditions to excavate the site on the ocean floor where the ship finally came to rest. Results of the sale will be announced by April 15, the anniversary of the sinking.
Titanic artifacts set to go up for auction [CNNMoney]

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