State to auction more safe- deposit items
The state’s Division of Unclaimed Funds plans a series of auctions to clear out most of the items it has received from abandoned safe-deposit boxes.
The state’s first auction in nearly 20 years in February netted $437,000 after commissions and other costs.
The second auction is set for Thursday and Friday at Apple Tree Auction Center in Newark. Subsequent auctions will be held every few months until only the items the state has acquired since 2012 remain. Banks hold items from unpaid safedeposit boxes for a minimum of three years before turning the contents over to the state.
The division will hold the proceeds from the sale until they are claimed by the owner or owners. All rightful claims then will be paid in cash.
At the first auction, the state sold items that it acquired between 1968 and 2000. This week’s auction will sell items turned over to the state between 2000 and 2002.
Nearly 2,400 lots from 632 safe-deposit boxes will be up for bid at the auction this week. Most of the items are coins and foreign currency, including a large number of silver dollars. Jewelry, stamps and trading cards are also among the items to be sold.
The first auction generated much more money than expected. The more than 2,000 lots generated sales of about $510,000. The appraised value of the items before the auction was $338,000.
The top item in the first auction was two 1-ounce gold Krugerrands that sold for $3,000.
The purpose of the auctions is to make room at the division’s storage facility in Reynoldsburg.
A public viewing of the items to be sold will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Apple Tree auction site. The auction will start at 9 a.m. both days.
For more information about the auction, go to: www.appletreeauction.com/ auction-calendar/2017/5/5/ state-of-ohio-unclaimedauction.