State treasurer brings unclaimed property auction to Cape

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek is in Cape Girardeau to host the department's annual unclaimed property auction.

The auction began Wednesday, Sept. 27, and continues Thursday, Sept 28, at Drury Plaza Hotel Cape Girardeau Convention Center, located at 3351 Percy Drive.

The unclaimed property auction features a wide range of collectibles, antiques and jewelry, including a rare 1913 pilgrimage journal to Rome in the books section; a five-piece Great Depression coin set from 1929, which includes a wheat penny, buffalo nickel, mercury dime, a $1 Liberty Head gold coin from 1853 and a complete set of U.S. proof coins from 1973 to 1980; and a white gold pearl bracelet with matching earrings. A total of 2,100 lots will be auctioned during this two-day event.

All items are authenticated by an actuary and priced before the auction.

"We have an actuary who comes in and gives us a reasonable market value for items before we put them on the auction so we have a good understanding of what something is going to be sold for. That's where the bidding will start from," Malek said.

The auction features items from safe deposit boxes from all over the state. Under state law, when there is five years of inactivity for safe deposit boxes, Missouri financial institutions have to return the content of those boxes to the state. Then, the treasurer is responsible for safeguarding the content of the boxes until the rightful owner can be found, Malek said.

"This is a several-year process. Each year we receive around 1,000 safe deposit boxes from across the state. Once we complete an exhaustive search for the rightful owner and we are unable to find the rightful owner, then we turn it in for an auction," he said.

Malek explained that these items and the revenue generated by the auction never become the state's property.

"What is important is that we always want to return the property to the original owners, and if we are not able to track the original owner, then the proceeds from this auction will still go into the same account and we hold on to that money. Individuals or heirs can claim that money at any point," he said.

Individuals who believe they have unclaimed property in the state's possession can claim the items or the proceeds by visiting www.ShowMeMoney.com.

"My office holds $1.2 billion in unclaimed property, and I'm working hard every day to return as much of it as possible. It isn't doing anybody any good while it is sitting there, so we want people to come and claim it."

Malek said his office holds nearly $10 million in unclaimed property for 100,000 account owners from Cape Girardeau County.

Military medals and insignia are the only non-monetary items that will never be auctioned because of their sentimental value. There is a separate section on www.ShowMeMoney.com for such items.

"We always try to get those back to the veterans or their family members," he said.

Missouri's Unclaimed Property Auction has been hosted in various cities in the past, including Columbia, Kansas City and Springfield. As a long-time resident of Cape Girardeau, Malek said the Southeast Missouri region deserves consideration. Hosting the auction in Cape Girardeau not only provides local residents with an opportunity to view and bid on a variety of interesting items but also attracts interested parties from across Missouri and beyond.

"I am from Cape Girardeau, I consider Cape Girardeau to be my adopted home, and I wanted to bring the auction to my hometown, so people can get a taste of what it is," Malek said. "Doing that, we will also be showcasing what a beautiful city we have here in Cape Girardeau."