Long-forgotten diamond ring part of state’s $103,000 auction haul
BY DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief April 16, 2012 7:16PM
This long forgotten ring was auctioned off by the state as part of a $103,000 haul of forgotten and unclaimed property.
Updated: May 18, 2012 9:54AM
SPRINGFIELD — It could have been a mother’s diamond engagement ring or one someone had set aside in a safe-deposit box for the moment when he met that special someone.
Whatever its story, this piece of long-forgotten jewelry was auctioned off with thousands of other items by state Treasurer Dan Rutherford as part of his office’s unclaimed property auction.
The seven-day sale sold 14,734 of nearly 15,000 pieces of unclaimed property after original owners had not stepped forward to claim the items after more than five years. The total haul from the auction was more than $103,000.
Items for sale ranged from the diamond ring to loose jewels to coin lots. The sale price of each item was required to reach at least 75 percent of its appraised value before Rutherford’s office would relinquish it.
Dave McKinney
