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Titanic watch withdrawn from auction
A collector who was selling
a pocket watch found on
the frozen body of the last victim
to be recovered from the
Titanic had a change of heart
and cancelled the auction.
The watch, which had belonged
to Dumfries-born steward Thomas
Mullin, was put up for sale on
internet auction site eBay on
March 13 with a starting bid of only
$100 (£50).
With 36 hours to go, and bids
having reached $23,000 (£11,500),
East Grinstead collector Paul
Thorpe, 48, cancelled all bids.
He said: "I have decided not to
sell it for the moment because I
had some interest from a television
production company that wants to
do a documentary. So at the
moment it's still locked away in
the safety deposit box."
Mr Thorpe had been hoping to
cash in on the item he bought with
a friend from another collector two
years ago, but said he was likely to
hold on to it for another four years
- until 2012 and the 100th anniversary
of the sinking.
A crew badge belonging to Mr
Mullin, a third-class steward who
signed on just four days before
departure, was sold at auction for
£28,000 almost four years ago.
His white-faced watch, damaged
beyond repair and without any
hands, had been offered on eBay
with a certificate of authenticity
and documents detailing the life
and family of its owner.
Mr Mullin was only 20 when he
died in the north Atlantic after the
Titanic struck an iceberg.
More than 1,500 people lost their
lives on the ship's maiden voyage
from Southampton to New York in
April 1912.
Reports in the Dumfries and
Galloway Standard five days after
the accident confirmed Mr
Mullin's body remained missing.
Two days later a recovery mission
was launched and a further 17
bodies were found, of which
Mr Mullin's was the last. His
belongings were returned to his
family. Fearing they brought bad
luck, they sold them for only £102.
More than 30 bids had been
placed on eBay and the reserve
price met before Mr Thorpe scuppered
the dreams of bidders.
He said: "The television company
contacted me in the morning
and I said I would let it run its
course but they called back and
said there's some money on offer
here and the watch will be more
valuable afterwards. I spoke to my
wife and removed it from sale.
"The thing about eBay is that
you never know, the price might
have hovered around what it was
when I ended it, but I've seen them
triple in price in the last 30 seconds.
It would have been lovely to
have left it to see what happened."
What would you pay for the watch? Leave your comments below
10:36am Friday 28th March 2008
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CommentPosted by: Me, here on 1:25pm Fri 28 Mar 08
"Titanic watch withdrawn from auction"
Crikey! Just how big was it then?
"Titanic watch withdrawn from auction"
Crikey! Just how big was it then?
Posted by: Ray, West Midlands on 10:59pm Fri 28 Mar 08
AS far as can be ascertained there is no provenance placing the watch in Mr Mullens possession or that it was recovered with his body I would pay absolutely nothing for it.
AS far as can be ascertained there is no provenance placing the watch in Mr Mullens possession or that it was recovered with his body I would pay absolutely nothing for it.
Posted by: Jasmine, India (New Delhi) on 11:26am Wed 2 Apr 08
I like to read everything about Titanic.
I like to read everything about Titanic.
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