The Biscuit That Survived The Sinking of Titanic Became the World's Most Expensive Biscuit

By | January 5, 2018

This crunchy old biscuit survived the sinking of the Titanic and is probably one of the most expensive baked products in the world. It was sold for £15,000 or $23,000 last week at an auction in Devizes, Wiltshire. The new owner of this 'edible memorabilia' is a collector from Greece.

This cracker is definitely one of the most unique collectable Titanic items in existence. The “Pilot” biscuit was part of a survival kit on one of the Titanic lifeboats. It was manufactured by Spillers and Bakers, a company known for manufacturing dog biscuits. They also manufactured cheap products that were often used as rations in case of emergency or during wars.

The biscuit was saved as a souvenir by passengers on the RMS Carpathia - James and Mabel Fenwick. They were heading to Europe for their honeymoon when the ship was called to help the Titanic and its survivors. James carefully preserved it in a Kodak film envelope together with a note that said, “Pilot biscuit from Titanic lifeboat April 1912”.

Together with the biscuit the couple also saved photo negatives from the rescue operation. The pictures are probably the best document that depicts the events that occurred that fateful day; the arrival of the lifeboats and the survivors embarking on Carpathia.

Auctioneer Andrew Aldrige from Aldridge & Son auctioneers said:

“We don’t know which lifeboat the biscuit came from, but there are no other Titanic lifeboat biscuits in existence to my knowledge. It is incredible that this biscuit has survived such a dramatic event – the sinking of the world’s largest ocean liner – costing 1,500 lives.”

Apparently, the Titanic biscuit is not the only one with the taste of history. According to Aldridge, a few years ago, a biscuit from Shackleton’s expeditions was sold for about £3,000.