State will auction unclaimed caches

By The Associated Press

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OLYMPIA — Tiffany cuff links, World War II-era German daggers and part of the captain's log from the R.M.S. Lusitania are among unclaimed items being auctioned by the state Department of Revenue.

Bidding is set for Feb. 25-26 at the James G. Murphy auction house in Kenmore, just north of Seattle, with a preview Feb. 24.

Interested parties can also bid online live for the first time, at www.icollectorlive.com.

The items are from abandoned safety-deposit boxes.

"There's treasures, and then there's things you wonder why people even put it in their box," said agency spokesman Patrick Tate.

Among the 3,362 lots are a 2.2-carat diamond and platinum ring, 75 antique pocket watches, hundreds of gold and silver coins, and gold cuff links stamped with the Academy Awards insignia.

Historical items include a photographic negative of Mount St. Helens erupting, WWII daggers etched with swastikas and German eagles, and rookie cards for baseball greats Ken Griffey Jr. and Mark McGwire.

There are also 1911 records from the British luxury liner Lusitania, which was torpedoed by a German U-boat four years later, a sinking that took 1,201 lives.

Every year, the Department of Revenue receives more than 1,200 abandoned safety-deposit boxes from banks and credit unions around the state, Tate said. The agency is charged with contacting the owners and returning the items. If no claimants are found within five years, the items are sold.

Profits go to the state general fund, Tate said, but owners still have the option of reclaiming the money from their sold property.

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