Own a piece of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Life ring to be auctioned Auction features relics from infamous Great Lakes shipwreck FILE - The largest and longest vessel ever built on the Great Lakes, the 729-foot ore carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald, slides into the launching basin, on June 7, 1958, in Detroit, Michigan. Sailors who lost their lives in shipwrecks on the Great Lakes and Michigan waterways will be remembered at a historic church in downtown Detroit on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022. The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank on Nov. 10, 1975, in Lake Superior during a storm. (AP Photo, File) (Associated Press)
DETROIT – A life ring and a plank from the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald’s Lifeboat 1 will be auctioned at Detroit’s DuMouchelles this month.
The Fitzgerald sank on the evening of Nov. 10, 1975 , during a particularly rough storm on Lake Superior. There are no survivors or witnesses to the shipwreck.
Watch: The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, 50 years later (full extended cut documentary)
According to the auction posting , the life ring and plank were found by Larry Orr along the Lake Superior shore 10 days after the iconic freighter sank. Orr loaned the items to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum , but has now placed them up for auction due to health and financial issues.
It’s not the only Edmund Fitzgerald life ring that has been recovered. The National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, the Lake Superior Marine Museum in Duluth, the Milwaukee Central Library in Wisconsin and Neys Provincial Park in Ontario all have life rings on display.
DuMouchelles estimates the life ring and plank will sell for at least $15,000. It will be open to bidding at 11 a.m. on Dec. 19.
More information can be found on the auction page here .
DuMouchelles is located on Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, just across the street from the Renaissance Center.
Related: Remembering the Edmond Fitzgerald (not a typo)
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About the Author Dane Kelly headshot Dane Kelly is an Oreo enthusiast and producer who has spent the last seven years covering Michigan news and stories.
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