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Fitzgerald Life Ring Fetches $150K at Auction
19 Sep
Summary
- Artifacts from the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sold for $150,000.
- The items were discovered in 1975 along Lake Superior's shoreline.
- The sale occurred approximately 50 years after the ship's sinking.
A life ring and a fragment from a lifeboat, discovered in 1975, have fetched $150,000 at auction. Larry Orr found these artifacts along Michigan's Lake Superior shoreline shortly after the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank on November 10, 1975.
The 729-foot freighter was en route to Detroit from Superior, Wisconsin, when it encountered a severe storm. Facing 75 mph winds and 25-foot waves, the ship reported taking on water and developing a list before vanishing from radar.
The wreck was later found broken in two pieces in about 530 feet of water, with all 29 crew members lost. The artifacts, however, remained with Orr for decades.
The life ring was eventually loaned to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. Recently, both artifacts were offered for sale by DuMouchelles, with the lot selling for $150,000 after 32 bids.
These objects represent tangible connections to the Fitzgerald disaster, a tragedy that claimed 29 lives and remains the worst single accident in Lake Superior's history. Memorial services continue annually for the lost crew members.
