More than $523,000 in proceeds generated by most recent auction 

Harrisburg, PA — Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced today that the Treasury’s Fall Unclaimed Property Auction generated more than $523,000.

“The fall auction once again delivered strong results and we saw competitive bidding and impressive prices, particularly on coins and jewelry,” Treasurer Garrity said. “Our top priority is always to return unclaimed property to its rightful owner, but when that cannot be done, those items are auctioned off and we ensure that the proceeds remain available to claim no matter how much time passes.”

Proceeds from the sale have been recorded by the Treasury and will be held in perpetuity so that the rightful owners may claim them at anytime. Despite extensive outreach efforts, including mailed notices, database searches and online listings, Treasury is not always able to reunite unclaimed property with its rightful owner for a variety of reasons such as no address or no identifiable heirs.

More than 6,000 items were sold during the two-day auction, which took place Oct. 29 and 30. Treasury works with Pook & Pook, Inc., of Downingtown, to provide auctioneer and appraisal services.

The highest-priced item sold was rhodium sponge, which brought $23,400. Other notable sales included:

• 5.739 troy ounces of iridium sponge and 16.76 troy ounces of platinum sponge, each selling for $17,000;
• A platinum ring featuring a 4.40-carat emerald-cut diamond (color I, clarity SI1) with two tapered baguettes totaling .25 ctw, size 5, weighing 4.75 dwt, which sold for $16,000;
• An 18K yellow gold bracelet set with 40 round diamonds totaling .60 ctw (color G, clarity SI2) and 40 round sapphires, weighing 48.35 dwt, which sold for $5,500; and
• A 14K yellow gold cross pendant with 1.25 ctw of round, baguette, and square diamonds (color G, clarity I2), weighing 21.80 dwt, paired with a 10K yellow gold chain weighing 36.70 dwt, which sold for $4,000.

“Pook & Pook is honored to have been the auction house of choice for the Pennsylvania Treasury Department for the past decade,” said Deirdre Pook Magarelli, President of Pook & Pook. “Selling at auction lets the market speak for itself, revealing the most accurate value through real demand, real competition and real buyers.”

“The success of the auction this past October was no exception with prices coming in above the high estimate,” Magarelli added. “With strong collector interest and favorable market conditions, now is an excellent time to sell coins and jewelry and capture their full potential value. The team at Pook & Pook looks forward to working with the Treasury for the next decade in helping the material slated for auction do just that.”

Treasury expects to net over $450,000 from total gross auction sales of $523,840.

Any items that are not sold, or that are not paid for by winning bidders, are returned to Treasury and may be offered in future auctions.

Businesses are required to turn over unclaimed property to the Treasury after it has remained dormant for three years. Tangible items, most commonly the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes, are then held securely in Treasury’s vault for at least an additional three years while efforts continue to locate the rightful owners. Treasury does not auction military decorations or memorabilia.

Currently, more than $5 billion in unclaimed property is available to be claimed, and more than one in ten Pennsylvanians is owed unclaimed property. The average claim is over $1,000.

Pennsylvanians can search for unclaimed property by visiting patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Steven Chizmar