Titanic artifacts to be auctioned

NEW YORK, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A New York auction house says it will auction a collection of more than 5,000 artifacts from the wreck of the Titanic.

The artifacts will be sold off together as a single, complete collection, owned by RMS Titanic Inc., a division of Premier Exhibitions Inc., which served as keeper of the Titanic wreck site and all its salvaged artifacts, Guernsey's said in a release Wednesday.

Artifacts include, but are not limited to, pieces of dining service, jewelry and clothing.

Premier Exhibitions will direct a portion of the proceeds to the Titanic Preservation Trust, an endowment fund created by the company for future conservation and maintenance of Titanic artifacts, the release said.

A U.S. District judge in Norfolk, Va., ruled in August that RMS Titanic Inc. could have legal control of Titanic artifacts, but stipulated they be preserved and be sold only under limited conditions.

The Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean April 15, 1912 -- on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. All but 705 of its 2,228 passengers died.

The auction is scheduled for April 11.