OLYMPIA — Looking for a gold tooth for that someone special this holiday season?
Maybe some hardly used brass knuckles or a diamond ring that with a little polishing won’t reveal any sign of the person who wore it before?
You’ll find each of these and nearly 4,000 other valuables and collectibles up for auction by the state Thursday and Friday.
All the treasures are getting sold after their owners either forgot or abandoned them in safe deposit boxes of banks and credit unions throughout Washington.
Those folks who didn’t pay rent on their boxes for at least five years had their possessions turned over to the state Department of Revenue for disposal.
By law, the state agency can hold the property for no more than five years before selling it off — and that time period is almost over. The last time the state held an auction like this was four years ago.
Employees have been trying to reunite items with their rightful owners. They had a few successes like finding the two brothers who owned a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. And along the way they even determined a letter signed by President Abraham Lincoln found in one box was a fake.
There is a lot of stuff still unclaimed and will be going up for sale at 9 a.m. Thursday and again Friday at James G. Murphy Co. auction house in Kenmore
“Our intent is everything gets sold and we don’t bring anything back,” said Patti Wilson, unclaimed property operations manager for the Department of Revenue.
Wilson helped inventory the property and said the single gold-filled tooth left a biting memory.
“I’d heard we’d get teeth with gold fillings in them. Seeing someone’s tooth on the table, well, I used an envelope to push it back into the bag,” she said of Item 2018, which will be sold Friday.
Money raised from the auction — minus the auctioneer’s cut — will go into the Department of Revenue’s unclaimed property fund.
Wilson said it will be held there forever as owners of property that gets auctioned are entitled to receive the money collected from the sale of their possessions — if they prove they are the valid owners.
What’s for sale?
On Thursday, the brass knuckles, more than 100 rings with various sized diamonds and a karaoke CD containing songs of The Eagles are among 1,755 treasures.
Also Thursday, necklaces, watches and a few batches of baseball cards will be sold.
Friday is a coin collector’s dream as there will be hundreds of gold and silver coins of different denominations as well as South African Krugerrands and national currency issued in 1929 from chartered banks in a number of cities including Everett.
There is even a $1,000 bill, from 1934, for sale near the end of the second day.
Wilson said it is possible you can buy it for less than a thousand dollars.
“You might get a good Christmas gift,” she said.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
Preview the sale
Property can be previewed today and Wednesday at www.murphyauctions.net or in person from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at James G. Murphy Co., 18226 68th Ave. NE in Kenmore.
For auction information, call 425-486-1246.
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