Maine to Auction Off Millions of Dollars in Abandoned Treasures

Two or three times a year, a story about the State of Maine holding unclaimed money circulates the news websites and social media.  The story always has a link to a government website where you can enter your personal information to see if you are owned money.

About a year ago, I entered my personal information and was surprised to find that I had about $60 coming to me.  Sure, I was hoping that it would be a lot more, but at least it was enough for a good meal out or a tank of gas.

Sometimes, however, the unclaimed property is not in the form of money.  Sometimes, it is physical items.

Each year, the contents of about a hundred abandoned safe deposit boxes are turned over to the State of Maine with hopes that the owners will be found.  Occasionally, people do reach out to claim the items.  More often than not, though, the items just sit there.

As you can probably imagine, they take up a lot of space.  At this point, there are so many items that the government is running out of space to store them.  That is why, for the first time in about two decades, the State of Maine is going to be auctioning some of these items off.

According to an article in the KJ, items found in the safe deposit boxes include antique jewelry, old watches, coins, collectibles, books, postcards, letters, bars of precious metals, military medals, and stocks.

Of course, not all of these will be up for auction.  Some things will be held by the state with hopes that the owners may one day resurface.

The auctions will take place later this year and will be conducted by Lone Star Auctions. The article explains that the dates for the auctions will be available in advance on the Maine State Treasury website.

You may want to check to see if the state is holding money or property that belongs to you.  Also, enter the names of your deceased relatives.  Who knows, maybe grandma had some expensive stuff stashed away in a safe deposit box that was not mentioned in her will.

You can check HERE