•December 16, 2015•

Bidders paid $73,000 for 8,000 pieces of commemorative coins, jewelry and baseball cards in the state’s unclaimed property auction, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs’ office has said. The week-long online sale closed recently.

Among the winning bids were $12,052 for an Engelhard 10oz gold bar and $1,391 for a 1923D Saint Gaudens Double Eagle gold piece. A lot that included a 1967 Mickey Mantle Topps baseball card, a 1966 Sandy Koufax Tops baseball card and a 1982 Baltimore Orioles Future Stars Topps baseball card that included Cal Ripken Jr. went for $467. All items exceeded appraised estimates by an outside vendor.

Illinois has held such auctions for more than 15 years. Total auction proceeds for calendar year 2015 were $392,000.

“We always prefer to find the owner of an item, and we search for years in an effort to do so,” Frerichs said. “For those items that are auctioned, we will hold the cash value for the owner or the owner’s family no matter how long it takes.”     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.