Violin Played on Titanic Sells for $1.6M

That's a lot of money for an instrument you can't even play anymore. A violin believed to have been played on the Titanic before it sank sold at an auction on Saturday for more than $1.6 million—a world record for a Titanic artifact, according to collectors. The ocean-corroded violin is believed to have belonged to Wallace Hartley, the bandleader whose story is famously portrayed in James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic, when Hartley and his band continued playing "Nearer, My God, to Thee" on the deck even as the ship sank into the icy waters of the Atlantic. The instrument is engraved with Hartley's name, is believed to have been found with his body a week after the vessel sank, and has been subjected to numerous authenticity tests. Congrats to the rich, anonymous buyer who bid by phone.