After spending years collecting dust in safe deposit boxes across Massachusetts, various pieces of unclaimed property will now become available to online consumers through government-sponsored auctions. Although state-run auctions are commonplace, this is the first time in Massachusetts history that the state has turned to the wildly popular auction site eBay to facilitate its transactions.
The purchases began Monday at 12 p.m., as shoppers browsed though unwanted jewelry, coins, silverware and other personal memorabilia in the Great Hall of the Massachusetts State House, and 25 new items will be added each day until all 200 are available for bids at eBay.com. State law requires the Treasury Department’s Abandoned Property Division to assume items from safe deposit boxes if they have not been claimed after seven years. If attempts to reach the owners or their immediate heirs prove unsuccessful, the property is placed on the auction block.
Interested browsers can find everything from unclaimed pocket change to a gold pendant believed to be the handiwork of Paul Revere. Jewelry and rare personal keepsakes proved to be the most popular amongst shoppers, and the prized items of the auction were a silver teapot recovered from the U.S. Frigate Constitution circa 1800. Just 20 minutes into the auction, the Great Hall was abuzz as an unclaimed, 49-ounce platinum bar received bids of more than $43,000.
State Treasurer Timothy Cahill was on hand to kick off the auction and said eBay would allow the state to raise funds from all over the world, on a scale that was impossible just years ago.
“We think it can reach a wider audience and generate more money [than a live auction],” Cahill said. “It’s a private sector practice that we want to incorporate into the state government.”
Even after an item has been sold, Cahill said, the items’ original owners are still able to claim the profits from the auction.
“Once [the item] is sold, the money goes into an account under the [new] owner’s name,” said Mike Ward, a Treasury Department employee and Cohasset resident. “Ten years down the road, if grandsons or sons or daughters [of the original owner] come to make a claim, the cash would go to them.”
Rosemary Kverek, a Charlestown resident and self-proclaimed eBay novice, said she was interested in items of historical significance and had her eye on a charm bracelet.
States such as Colorado, Kentucky, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Texas have already implemented state-sponsored online auctions.
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