kevin johnson
Member
my grandfather had gold bullion on her when she sank where would it have been kept
Gold bullion
- Thread starter kevin johnson
- Start date
Dave Hudson
Member
Really? Not to sound doubting, but how sure are you? To date, there is NO evidence what so ever that any bullion, jewels, diamonds, etc, etc, etc was ever aboard Titanic (except for what the passengers had in their staterooms, of course, but all of that is pretty well documented through insurance claims). Any large amount of vauble CARGO would have been claimed through insurance, but there is no such claim.
The only extremely valuble item that went down with the ship was a very rare book called the Rubiyat, a collection of eastern peotry written in the middle ages. The book itself wasn't very rare and it was in fact brand new, but the covers were bound with thousands of precious and semi-precious stones all forming elaborate disigns. It has not been recovered as of this date.
Sorry,
David
The only extremely valuble item that went down with the ship was a very rare book called the Rubiyat, a collection of eastern peotry written in the middle ages. The book itself wasn't very rare and it was in fact brand new, but the covers were bound with thousands of precious and semi-precious stones all forming elaborate disigns. It has not been recovered as of this date.
Sorry,
David
Dave Gittins
Member
Even the Rubaiyat was not worth a lot. It sold for £405 just before sailing. The stones were numerous semi-precious stones, not big fat diamonds and the like. The book consisted of some 50 odd verses of Edward Fitzgerald's translation illustrated by the American artist Elihu Vedder. Vedder also put the verses into an order that he thought was more cohesive than Fitzgerald's version.
All this assumes that the book was on board. The nearest thing to a primary source for this that I've seen is a newspaper report.
Some verses are quite apt, like this one.
The worldly hope men set their hearts upon
Turns ashes, or it prospers, and anon,
Like snow upon the desert's dusty face
Lighting a little hour or two, is gone.
All this assumes that the book was on board. The nearest thing to a primary source for this that I've seen is a newspaper report.
Some verses are quite apt, like this one.
The worldly hope men set their hearts upon
Turns ashes, or it prospers, and anon,
Like snow upon the desert's dusty face
Lighting a little hour or two, is gone.
Inger Sheil
Member
One moment in annihilation's waste
One moment of the well of life to taste
The stars are setting, the caravan
Starts for the dawn of nothing. O, make haste!
One moment of the well of life to taste
The stars are setting, the caravan
Starts for the dawn of nothing. O, make haste!
George Behe
Member
"There once was a young man named Whitfield..." 
Hi, Dave!
>Even the Rubaiyat was not worth a lot. It sold >for £405
I guess "worth" is a relative term, though. If I recall correctly, the 1912 British pound was worth roughly five dollars (and those were pre-income tax dollars.)
There used to be a website which calculated the purchasing power of currency from past decades; if someone recalls the URL of that website, it would be interesting if they could punch "$2000" into the website's calculator and see what that 1912 figure translates to in 2001 dollars. I suspect that the Rubaiyat's 'real' cost would have put it well out of the price range of most present-day Titanic enthusiasts (myself included.)
All my best,
George
Hi, Dave!
>Even the Rubaiyat was not worth a lot. It sold >for £405
I guess "worth" is a relative term, though. If I recall correctly, the 1912 British pound was worth roughly five dollars (and those were pre-income tax dollars.)
There used to be a website which calculated the purchasing power of currency from past decades; if someone recalls the URL of that website, it would be interesting if they could punch "$2000" into the website's calculator and see what that 1912 figure translates to in 2001 dollars. I suspect that the Rubaiyat's 'real' cost would have put it well out of the price range of most present-day Titanic enthusiasts (myself included.)
All my best,
George
Colleen Collier
Member
Lest we forget Henry Widener. He had many rare books that purchased and had on shipboard, that was lost as well as he. Has anyone estimated what those books were worth?
Colleen
Colleen
Fiona Nitschke
Member
Hello George (and others),
Try How much is that?
Lots of useful stuff, including the comparitive value of UK£ and US$ going back several centuries.
In 1912, UK£1 = US$4.87, so the Rubaiyaat cost US$1,972.35.
In today's terms the Rubaiyaat works out to UK£24,898.97. Ack! Quick, pass the smelling salts.
(Someone with a better understanding of the vagaries of the US$ over the past century can work out the US$ amount.
)
Colleen - I wouldn't like to guess what those books were worth. His 'little Bacon' book was rare and valuable even back then. (I once missed out on a very ordinary volume of poetry that had Widener's bookplate in it owing to a severe lack of the folding stuff.)
My turn!
:
A drop of water fell into the sea.
A speck of dust came floating down to earth.
What signifies your passage through this world?
A tiny gnat appears - and disappears.
Try How much is that?
Lots of useful stuff, including the comparitive value of UK£ and US$ going back several centuries.
In 1912, UK£1 = US$4.87, so the Rubaiyaat cost US$1,972.35.
In today's terms the Rubaiyaat works out to UK£24,898.97. Ack! Quick, pass the smelling salts.
(Someone with a better understanding of the vagaries of the US$ over the past century can work out the US$ amount.
Colleen - I wouldn't like to guess what those books were worth. His 'little Bacon' book was rare and valuable even back then. (I once missed out on a very ordinary volume of poetry that had Widener's bookplate in it owing to a severe lack of the folding stuff.)
My turn!
A drop of water fell into the sea.
A speck of dust came floating down to earth.
What signifies your passage through this world?
A tiny gnat appears - and disappears.
Fiona Nitschke
Member
Er, just occured to me that some context for all those pounds might be useful.
A quick squiz at the crew sign on sheets gives Chief Officer Wilde's monthly salary as £25 per month or £300 pa. That's £18,443.68 in 2001. No bejewelled copies of the Rubaiyaat for Henry Wilde, even if his wife came from money.
To place the £405 price for the Rubaiyaat into further perspective, Lamp Trimmer Samuel Hemming earned £5 per month, £60 pa (£3688.74 in 2001 terms).
(There. Inger's been waiting for a reference to AB Hemming for ages, no doubt. Plenty of time for that yet, Ing, plenty of time for that.
)
A quick squiz at the crew sign on sheets gives Chief Officer Wilde's monthly salary as £25 per month or £300 pa. That's £18,443.68 in 2001. No bejewelled copies of the Rubaiyaat for Henry Wilde, even if his wife came from money.
To place the £405 price for the Rubaiyaat into further perspective, Lamp Trimmer Samuel Hemming earned £5 per month, £60 pa (£3688.74 in 2001 terms).
(There. Inger's been waiting for a reference to AB Hemming for ages, no doubt. Plenty of time for that yet, Ing, plenty of time for that.
George Behe
Member
Hi, Fiona!
Thanks very much for the URL and for doing the math for us.
Since I'll never be able to afford such a beautifully-rendered version of the Rubaiyat, I guess I might as well start gluing some rhinestones onto my paperback edition.
All my best,
George
Thanks very much for the URL and for doing the math for us.
Since I'll never be able to afford such a beautifully-rendered version of the Rubaiyat, I guess I might as well start gluing some rhinestones onto my paperback edition.
All my best,
George
Geoff Whitfield
Member
George, A good tip is to screw up shiny silver paper, glue it on then take out the light bulbs, remembering to only show it off in the near dark!
Or, as in the case of Alma's engagement ring, I used the same trick and hid her spectacles. This was a trick I learned from Cook.
Geoff
Or, as in the case of Alma's engagement ring, I used the same trick and hid her spectacles. This was a trick I learned from Cook.
Geoff
George Behe
Member
Hi, Geoff!
>A good tip is to screw up shiny silver paper, >glue it on .....>remembering to
> only show it off in the near dark!
Geoff, you're a man after my own heart. The near dark ... 'economical' jewelry ... a nearsighted girl... it's a situation that cries out for men of action like you and me -- the possibilities are endless.
All my best,
George
>A good tip is to screw up shiny silver paper, >glue it on .....>remembering to
> only show it off in the near dark!
Geoff, you're a man after my own heart. The near dark ... 'economical' jewelry ... a nearsighted girl... it's a situation that cries out for men of action like you and me -- the possibilities are endless.
All my best,
George
Geoff Whitfield
Member
George, we have to face facts, Pat, Rose Ann and Alma must all have been near sighted before they even met us!
Geoff
Geoff
Colleen Collier
Member
Geoff and George. You should be ashamed of yourself. You have Pat so paranoid, you can't even say the word "Pat" and he jumps to defensive mode kicking and hollering... Let the man read the Rubiot (that is how you spelled your version right?) in peace while he still can would ya'?
Colleen
Just trying to be helpful Pat!
Colleen
Just trying to be helpful Pat!
George Behe
Member
Hi, Colleen!
>You have Pat so paranoid, you can't even say the >word "Pat" and he jumps to defensive mode
Don't know if you've noticed, but he's developed a nervous twitch, too.
All my best,
George
>You have Pat so paranoid, you can't even say the >word "Pat" and he jumps to defensive mode
Don't know if you've noticed, but he's developed a nervous twitch, too.
All my best,
George
