Edmund Fitzgerald plank, life ring sell for $150,000 at auction

A life ring and piece of wooden discovered after the ill-fated SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975 had been bought at public sale Friday December 19th for $150,000 – greater than seven occasions the pre-auction estimate.

“We thought it could be a hit, however this clearly far exceeded my expectations,” mentioned auctioneer Robert DuMouchelles. “You by no means know, although.”

The articles had been a part of a live auction on Friday morning via DuMouchelles, an public sale home in downtown Detroit that gives “distinctive, distinctive and high-quality items primarily based on almost 100 years of expertise in appraising, appraising and auctioning tremendous and ornamental artwork, jewellery and antiques.”

The Nice Lakes maritime relics bought to an unnamed purchaser included a picket plank from No. 1 lifeboat with “No. 1” in black paint, and an orange life ring with white stenciled lettering studying “SS Edmund Fitzgerald,” together with 4 black reinforcing straps holding a nylon rope. The rescue ring is 29 inches huge and 3½ inches thick. The piece of wooden is 4 inches excessive, 1 inch thick and 50½ inches lengthy.

Different life rings are on show on the Nationwide Museum of the Nice Lakes, Toledo, Ohio, in line with the public sale itemizing; the Lake Superior Marine Museum, Duluth, Minnesota; the Milwaukee Central Library, in Wisconsin, and Neys Provincial Park, in Canada.

In keeping with the public sale home’s catalog, the pair of things had been initially valued between $15,000 and $20,000.

DuMouchelles mentioned he was not conscious of the client’s plans for the objects.

The Edmund Fitzgerald, as soon as a record-setting freighter on the Nice Lakes, sank throughout a November storm in 1975, taking all 29 crew members with it. The definitive explanation for the wreck has by no means been decided.

“The public sale was $140,000, then $150,000 and I mentioned, ‘Oh my God,’ I used to be shocked,” mentioned Steve Lehto, an lawyer with Michigan Lemon Regulation, who bid $20,000 for the artifacts.

In simply 4 minutes, the bid went from $40,000 to $150,000, in line with bidding history from DuMouchelles, who confirmed 32 bids on the objects.

Lehto, a historian, creator and YouTube persona, mentioned he was within the artifacts due to his childhood recollections of his uncle, Wilbert Heikklia, who he mentioned served on two iron ore freighters, the Leon Falk Jr. and the SS Edward L. Ryerson.

Lehto mentioned he remembers the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking as a result of he feared for his uncle’s security.

Fortuitously, Heikklia was on the Leon Falk Jr. on the time, Lehto mentioned.

“Once I noticed the life ring was on the checklist, I mentioned to myself, I wish to see that ring keep in Michigan,” Lehto mentioned.

Bidders might entry the public sale on-line or in individual on the DuMouchelles Public sale Home, 409 E. Jefferson Ave. in Detroit.

The life ring and piece of wooden had been discovered on Nov. 18, 1975, about 10 days after the Edmund Fitzgerald was sunk by then 27-year-old Larry Orr, in line with the public sale itemizing.

Whereas strolling alongside the shoreline of Lake Superior, Orr observed the objects leaning in opposition to a tree trunk, presumably attributable to excessive water surf through the storm that sank the ship north of Whitefish Bay.

“A number of that is in regards to the tales of the thing and the tales of those that are the caretakers of those objects,” DuMouchelles mentioned. “Orr got here to us as a result of we’ve put lots of issues available on the market. We need to protect the historical past and discover the precise place for issues.”

In 1988, Orr loaned the relics to the Nice Lake Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, situated in Chippewa County close to Whitefish Level, “till well being and monetary considerations necessitated their sale at public public sale,” in line with the public sale itemizing.

What was the Edmund Fitzgerald?

When launched in 1958, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the biggest ship on the Nice Lakes and stays the biggest sunk.

The 700-foot SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Lake Superior in 1975, taking its complete 29-man crew with it.

The Edmund Fitzgerald’s Bell that was later recovered from the wreck is housed on the Nice Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

Jalen Williams is a trending reporter on the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.