Titanic’s richest passenger’s gold is up for auction

In an auction of memorabilia from the sinking of the Titanic, a gold watch belonging to John Jacob Astor IV, the richest man aboard the ship and a member of the Astor family, will be put up for bid.

Astor was one of approximately 1,500 people who died when the Titanic struck an iceberg on April 15, 1912, causing it to sink. Notably, Madeleine, his future wife, was alive.

The watch is one of several notable items up for auction Saturday at Henry Aldridge & Son in Wiltshire, England.

Other items up for bid include a pocketbook that recorded Titanic’s scheduled voyages and the Wally’s, which contains a violin played by the band leader just before the ship sank.

The violin itself is by far the most popular piece of the ship, having been sold for $1.7 million in 2013 through the same auction company.

According to Andrew Aldridge, managing director of auction house Henry Aldridge &, “the watch is expected to sell for between £100,000 to £150,000 ($125,000-$188,000) and the Wallys for £100,000-£120,000 ($125,000-$150,000).” Son.

“Bidding will begin on April 27 at noon local time (7 a.m. ET),” Aldridge said. cnn,