Two-Carat Diamond Ring Leads Nebraska's Unclaimed Property Auction

Nebraska State Treasurer Joey Spellerberg is declaring a recent auction of abandoned safe deposit boxes a success after nearly $60,000 was generated from the online sales.

The Oct. 6-14 auctions raised $57,305, which was more than $20,000 over the total appraised value.

What brought in the most? A white gold ring with a two-carat diamond sold for $15,307. Next up was a 14-karat gold mesh purse that sold for $10,307.

Money raised from the auction is not being kept by the state. The proceeds have been recorded in the original owners’ names and will be held for that person or their rightful heirs.

“This auction was a success,” Spellerberg said Thursday in a press release. “The abandoned items can be appreciated again, while our team locked in the proceeds for the rightful owners or their heirs. I appreciate the hard work and dedication of our Unclaimed Property Division, which made this auction possible.”

The release from the treasurer’s office said an owner or heir can come forward at any time and receive the funds, which can be claimed online.

If an owner or heir comes forward, regardless of how far into the future, the money from the sale will be available.

Several lots sold for nearly double the appraised value this month, and multiple items had more than two dozen bids.

This was the first unclaimed property auction held by the treasurer’s office since 2017. Over the past nine years, Unclaimed Property Division staff have sent letters to owners whose addresses were available and ran statewide newspaper and radio ads in search of rightful owners.

Under state law, Nebraska’s Unclaimed Property Division holds unclaimed property as a consumer protection measure until the rightful owners or their heirs claim it. Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, unpaid wages, stocks, and life insurance proceeds. Contents of safe deposit boxes are the only physical property received by the division.

So far this year, the release stated Nebraska’s Unclaimed Property Division has returned approximately $18.4 million and paid around 16,000 claims.

“Since Nebraska’s unclaimed property law was implemented in the late 1960s, the State of Nebraska has returned approximately $320 million to rightful owners,” Spellerberg said in the release. “One in five Nebraskans has unclaimed property, with money waiting to be claimed in all 93 Nebraska counties.”

Nebraska unclaimed property searches can be made online.

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