State Treasurer Announces Auction of Abandoned Safe Deposit Box Contents

A white gold diamond ring. A 14-karat gold purse. A 1961 Roger Maris baseball card. Century-old silver dollars. Depression-era currency.

These are just some of the many items that will be up for bid when the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office conducts its Oct. 6–13 online auction of abandoned safe deposit box contents that have been turned over to the state.

The auction will be conducted on eBay, beginning at 8 a.m. CT Tuesday, Oct. 6. Bids will be accepted for seven days, with the auction concluding just before 8 a.m. CT Tuesday, Oct. 13.

The lineup of auction items will be available for online viewing and bidding when the auction goes live Oct. 6 at https://www.ebay.com/usr/nebraska.unclaimedproperty.

Bidders will also be able to access the auction site from the Treasurer’s website at treasurer.nebraska.gov.

Under Nebraska law, the State Treasurer’s Office holds unclaimed property, including safe deposit box contents that have been abandoned or whose owners have died and whose heirs have not come forward. Safe deposit box contents are the only physical property received by Nebraska’s Unclaimed Property Division.

“Multiple efforts have been made over several years to locate the original owners of these items, but those efforts have been unsuccessful,” Spellerberg said. “The auction gives these items a new home while preserving the proceeds for their rightful owners. If an owner or heir comes forward years from now, the money from the sale will be waiting.”

The contents up for auction were received by the Treasurer’s Office more than a decade ago. Spellerberg said proceeds from the sale of each item will be recorded in the original owner’s name and held in that name until claimed by the rightful owners.

In the coming days, a sample of the auction items will be displayed on the State Treasurer’s official social media channels on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. All items for the auction have been inspected and appraised by Tom Bassett of Lincoln, a longtime independent appraiser. 

Among the items up for bid are the following:

• White gold diamond ring, emerald-cut stone, two carats, 16 side stones
• Mesh purse, marked 14-karat gold, 4.5 oz weight
• 1961 Topps #2 Roger Maris baseball card, good condition
• 1929 $100 bill U.S. currency, Federal Reserve of Minneapolis
• 1934 $500 Federal Reserve note, fair condition
• 1917 ladies’ watch, 14-karat gold band
• JFK half-dollars, 90% silver
• Morgan silver dollars
• Sterling silver set of silverware, 49 pieces
• 1995 Sports Illustrated, Huskers National Champions special edition
• $1 “Barr Bill”
• $1 and $5 silver certificates
• 1990 silver eagle, uncirculated
• 1986 Denver-minted dime with mint error, double struck
• 1924 Peace dollar

Employees of the State Treasurer’s Office and their immediate families are not eligible to bid.

Since Nebraska’s unclaimed property law took effect in the late 1960s, the State of Nebraska has returned more than $317 million to rightful owners. One in five Nebraskans has unclaimed property, with money waiting to be claimed in all 93 Nebraska counties.

Searching NebraskaLostCash.nebraska.gov is free, secure, and takes only a few minutes. Search your name, your family members’ names, or the name of your business or organization. If there’s a match, you can begin the claim process online.

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About the State Treasurer’s Office: The Nebraska State Treasurer serves as the state’s chief financial officer and is responsible for the safekeeping and management of Nebraska’s public funds. The office administers the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust (NEST 529) and the Enable Savings Plan; returns unclaimed property; collects and disburses child support payments; promotes transparency in state spending; and advances financial literacy. Learn more at treasurer.nebraska.gov or follow the Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X.