State treasurer urges all to 'come on down' to Missouri unclaimed property auction

After attempting to return items to their owners to no avail, Missouri will once again host its Unclaimed Property Auction.

In honor of the late Bob Barker, Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek used the iconic phrase from television game show “The Price Is Right” to encourage Missourians to “Come on down!” to the auction.

The auction will take place on Sept. 27 and 28 in Cape Girardeau at the Drury Plaza Hotel, Cape Girardeau Conference Center. The auction will start at 9 a.m. each day.

A preview of the items to be auctioned will take place Sept. 26 from 5-8 p.m. For those unable to attend the preview event, available items are listed on the Missouri Treasurer’s website.

Among the items available are a variety of antiques, jewelry and collectibles, including rare coins, baseball cards and comic books. About 2,100 lots will be listed for public sale to the highest bidder.

Prior to being listed in the auction, efforts were made to contact the owners of the items and return their goods to them. Under Missouri law, safety deposit boxes left inactive for five years are surrendered by financial institutions.

The state treasurer’s office will sometimes hold items for several years while conducting extensive searches for their owners. About 1,000 safety deposit boxes are surrendered to the treasurer every year.

More: Missouri has over a billion dollars in unclaimed funds. You can check if any is yours.

However, some non-cash items recovered from safety deposit boxes are never sold at auction. Military medals and insignia will always be held by the treasurer’s office, in hopes of someday reuniting the items with their owners.

All money raised by the auction is then held by the state until the rightful owner of the sold property claims it. Unclaimed property and the profits from its sale never become state property.

Malek urges all Missourians to check the treasurer’s website to see if they have unclaimed property or money held from its sale.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 2023 Missouri unclaimed property auction lists collectibles, jewelry