Auction
Official Publication of Safe Deposit Box Properties
Each year, financial institutions across the state of Iowa are required to report contents from abandoned safe deposit boxes. Once the contents are received, the Treasurer’s Office makes every attempt to locate the rightful owners. Letters are mailed to the last known address; names are published in a newspaper in the county of the last known address; names are posted on the GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov website; names are taken to the Iowa State Fair and other events around the state; and a search of online databases is completed to determine if there is an updated address for the lost owner.
The Treasurer’s Office is authorized to sell contents at a public auction when it is no longer feasible to hold the contents in the vault. Auctions are hosted by Lone Star Auctioneers, which specializes in selling unclaimed safe deposit box contents from state unclaimed property programs. The auction website link is IowaUnclaimedProperty.org. Bidding is open to anyone registered and approved on Lone Star Auctioneers with a valid U.S. mailing address.
