A biscuit survived the sinking of the Titanic and it just sold for $23,000
Remember back in September, when artifacts from the Titanic were being sold for insane amounts of money (take, for example, a $50,000 menu)? When there’s a ton of history thrown in the mix, it can make even the most seemingly mundane items worth their weight in gold. . . like, you know, a biscuit.
You’d think that something like a measly biscuit would not have survived the sinking of the Titanic, butttt you’d be wrong. The snack was owned by James and Mabel Fenwick, newlyweds who were beginning their three-month honeymoon to Europe back in 1912. They were on the SS Carpathia, which was the ship that ended up rescuing survivors of the Titanic. The biscuit was part of a survival kit that was likely found in a Titanic rescue boat and was used as rations or sustenance during times of war and other emergencies.
“I couldn’t imagine anything less appetizing, but if you’re in a rowing boat in the middle of the ocean, you’d certainly eat it with the rest of them,” auctioneer Andrew Aldridge told the Washington Post.
The biscuit’s hardiness is what kept it intact all these years. “If you get one of those and leave it out, it will dry and it will fossilize,” Aldridge told the Washington Post. “If you left a slice of bread out, it would go green and start to rot, but hot cross buns don’t, and neither do these biscuits.”
Having an edible artifact from the Titanic is something truly interesting, Aldridge told New China. “I have been selling Titanic items for more than 20 years and have never seen anything like this biscuit previously,” he said. “As well as being exceptionally rare, it is quirky. . . Will the buyer take a bite out of the biscuit? I doubt it, it would be a most expensive nibble. I doubt we will ever see anything like this again from the Titanic.”
After all, this is likely the only Titanic biscuit in existence, Aldridge explained to New China. “We don’t know which lifeboat the biscuit came from but there are no other Titanic lifeboat biscuits in existence. It is incredible that this biscuit has survived such a dramatic event.”
And, as you’d expect, it’s the world’s most valuable biscuit, which is exactly what auction house Henry Aldridge & Son is calling it. It was bought by a collector in Greece for $23,000, $8,000 more than it was expected to receive. NBD.
Along with the biscuit, various other Titanic artifacts were also sold, including a photograph that allegedly depicted the iceberg that sunk the titanic, and a “loving cup” presented to the captain of the Carpathian. The latter was sold for close to $200,000, making it the third most valuable Titanic item ever sold.
“The interest in the items reflected the worldwide nature of Titanic memorabilia. They captured collectors’ imagination,” Aldridge told BBC.
But let’s be real: The biscuit is the one that’s really getting our attention. After all, that’s one tough cookie. (Sorry, had to.)
Related reading:
How ‘Titanic’ helped me figure out the kind of relationship I want
The connection between ‘Titanic’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’ we never thought about until now
(Images via Twitter and YouTube)
