Original Steel From Mackinac Bridge Up For Auction

If you are a fan of owning pieces of history, parts of the Mackinac Bridge are up for sale.

Pieces of the original Mackinac Bridge can now be yours if the price is right. An online auction is going on now that is offering up barrels full of the original steel deck grating from the bridge. These pieces of steel come in a 55-gallon barrel and weigh approximately 470 pounds each. The purchasers will also have to sign a hold harmless agreement as the pieces were originally coated in lead-based paint.

There are five barrels in the auction and the bidding war has already begun. Potential purchasers have until May 18th to bid on these pieces of history. Each barrel contains around 140 different pieces of the grating and each piece ranges in size from five inches by eight inches and five inches by eleven inches.

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At the time of writing this (Monday, May 10th around 9 am,) the highest bid for one of the barrels was $725 and the lowest was $535. To check out the auction or make a bid, click here. 

My biggest question about this auction is...why? I understand that these pieces are a big part of the history of Michigan and the Mackinac Bridge, but I don't see the appeal in these items in particular. Five different people are going to pay a bunch of money for a barrel full of small steel decking pieces. There isn't much you can do with that, but what do I know. To each their own.

Source: ABC 12