Illinois selling unclaimed jewelry on ebay
Just in time for the holidays, Illinois has emptied some abandoned bank safe deposit boxes and posted an eclectic assortment of jewelry for online auction on eBay.
The Illinois treasurer's office, which has been using eBay auctions for miscellaneous goods since August, is holding its first-ever jewelry-only sale this week aimed at holiday shoppers.
Up for the highest bidder are two diamond solitaire gold rings that have languished unclaimed since the 1960s. Or a single lot of 1,997 purplish cabochon corundum gemstones, weighing a collective 13 pounds, 8 ounces. Other offerings include necklaces, pins and earrings.
Illinois will follow up its jewelry sale with its first collectibles auction next week, featuring coins, stamps, silverware and baseball cards.
The state's eBay sales have generated just over $98,000 so far, garnering prices that averaged 78 percent over appraised value, according to Kati Phillips, spokeswoman for Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.
Forgetful safe deposit box owners or their heirs could be in for a holiday gift as well. If they have the correct paperwork for the boxes, they can claim the money the state earned from the contents sale, Phillips said.
Illinois takes possession of deposit boxes unused for at least five years at banks, holding valuables in a state vault for several more years as the owners are sought.
A number of states and local governments have used eBay over the years to sell a variety of items, including school buses, statues and naming rights, eBay spokeswoman Catherine England said.