Vanishing Nightmare, thank you for your in depth response. I have a side of me that believes along the lines of what you said.<br /><br />Another side of me is uneasy for a couple of reasons.<br />Not long after this coal went on the market, Dr. Ballard made a comment stating something to the effect that taking coal from the Titanic would be like taking samples of fuel from Flight 800 that crashed in the ocean (this happened not long before he made his remarks, 1996?). <br />I know he is very anti - salvage, and sometimes I tend to lean toward his point of view. For example, he states that you cannot take up helmets and belt buckles from the USS Arizona, so why should Titanic be any different?<br /><br />Another thing that troubles me is that I heard that RMS Titanic, which was selling the coal, was low on funds and was not making the money with their artifact exhibits to cover the expedition funds. As a result, the company's perservation funds and services were in trouble. This coal was sold to help fund this problem.<br /><br />I don't know is these rumors are or were true, but I guess my main point is I would feel terrible if I helped fund an organization that salvaged artifacts from the Titanic for profit, then let those artifacts deteriorate and crumble because of lack of care on their part. <br /><br />I guess the question of salvage goes on.... <img src="http://www.titanic.com/uploads/smil3dbd4d6422f04.gif" alt="" />