Auction to Sell Off Safe Deposit Items

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Silvano DiGenova still remembers the $50 gold coin he spotted at an unclaimed property auction. It commemorated the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco and was worth $50,000.


Such finds are pretty rare, but DiGenova is likely to see other bits of valuable property now that his auction house, Superior Galleries Inc., has been awarded a two-year contract to sell off California’s unclaimed safety deposit property.


Beverly Hills-based Superior takes over from Fort Worth, Texas-based Lone Star Auctioneers Inc.


The last auction fetched $1.1 million, with Lone Star raking in $55,000. DiGenova, Superior’s chairman and chief executive, said his company could make more despite the lower commission by attracting additional bidders.


“(Lone Star) had a mailing list that was primarily seized property buyers. All those who showed up were people looking for bargains and deals,” he said. “We have this clientele of Beverly Hills millionaires and some billionaires.”


The auctions typically include 1,000 to 2,000 pieces, which banks are required to turn over to the state if unclaimed by the owner three years after a lease expires.


Auctioned items range from rare and old coins and postage stamps to jewelry and small antiques. Superior’s first unclaimed property auction will be held next May.


DiGenova figures that public auctions will help draw new customers to its private, rare coin auctions, although he isn’t expecting finds similar to the 1915 commemorative coin. “There is going to be a certain percentage of material that is going to be mundane,” he said.


Garin Casaleggio, a spokesman for the state Controller’s Office, said that Superior’s bid was the lowest of three.


Property abandoned in safety deposit boxes is turned over to the state three years after a lease runs out, but it can take up to seven years before the contents are auctioned off. Banks are required to try to track down box owners before giving the items to auctioneers.


And even after an auction, owners can get the state to reimburse the value of their box’s contents. The auctions are meant to free up the safety deposit box space at banks.

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