Divers Retrieve Fortune in Gems, Cash From Titanic

Divers plucked a battered valise containing a fortune in gems, bank notes and coins from the Titanic on Thursday, a salvage official said.

The leather valise did not bear a name, said expedition leader Robert Chappaz. He released few details on the satchel’s contents.

No estimate has been made for what jewels found at the wreck of the luxury liner would be worth. But marine salvage experts have said that even a cup off the Titanic, which sank 75 years ago, would be worth a fortune.

In a statement released in Paris before dawn Thursday, Chappaz said the valise was not in good condition. But its existence indicated that some organic objects remained decades after the ship sank April 14-15, 1912.

In addition to finding the satchel, divers aboard the high-tech mini-sub Nautile retrieved a small safe believed to have been the assistant purser’s strongbox, the statement said.

The satchel, which was found during a routine survey of the stern section of the debris field, was opened and examined briefly, revealing the valuables and currency.

No Private Sales Planned

Chappaz repeated the expedition’s claim that none of the artifacts would be sold to private individuals. He did not say if any objects might be sold to institutions, such as museums.

The French Institute for Research and Exploitation of the Sea, owner of the Nautile and support vessel Nadir, has said any artifacts would be displayed during a world tour.

No explanation has been given as to how investors in the expedition will recover the $2.5-million cost of the adventure. The investors are grouped as the British-registered Ocean Research and Exploration Ltd.

Plans were announced last week by the Hollywood-based Westgate Film Group to open the safe on a live broadcast from Monaco on Oct. 28.

The French Institute was part of a French-American expedition that located the Titanic wreck in September, 1985.